ちょうど、私愛する覚えなさい
by Persia no Hime
Summary: Complete Now. Shikamaru lay on her bed, just where she'd imagined he'd be. She tried to fold her arms but remembered that she couldn't, so she just glared at him and hoped for the dreamif it was a dreamto end. ShikaTema and other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

ちょうど、私愛する覚えなさい

Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Naruto but I don't. **

**AN: **Do you think If i tried hard enough, I'd be able to draw chakra? Ah i don't think so, anyways, I've barely came up with this story cause I'm bored but I think its gonna be a good story. Anyways I'm just coming up with the plot...

another thing, the name is supposed so say : Just remember, I love you- but when I translated it, it said : exactly, me it loves, remember- so I'm not really sure about it...just don't pay attention to the name because i really suck at making them up .

**Characters**:

_Temari- kicks ass_

_Shikamaru- troublesome, love him anyways._

_Sakura- :P useless at first, not so useless after a while_

_Naruto - dattebayo!_

_Hinata- needs confidence- for her own good_

_Lee – bushy brows **Shudder**_

_Neji- forget destiny_

_Sasuke- I'll kill his brother just to see the expression on his face, also emo and possibly gay though extremely cute..._

_Tenten- in love with Lee...freaky (anyone that disagrees has to go watch episode 142 of Naruto)_

_Chouji- FAT_

_Ino- bitch!_

_Kankuro- make-up boy_

_Gaara- Awesome!_

_Kiba- too doggy_

_Shino- lacks emotion._

**AN: **these are the characters that will be in my story. Also wut i think of them. There will be romance in this story, though i am perfectly aware that the series is not at all based on romance. Anyways there will be pairings, the way i like them, by the way if u want any characters included in the story like sai, or itachi or something, well then review and tell me. If u don't, then probably they wont be in it. Also there will be references to other characters but these are the important ones.

Ch. 1

Temari sat on the chair waiting for the Hokage. Her patience slowly running out. What was wrong with the woman. She had made Temari wait for god-knows how long and hell she was pissed. Well the main reason was because she could be out there exploring Konoha and trying to figure out where she could stay. The Hokage wouldn't give her a place to stay, she was sure of that. This was _all_ Gaara's fault. Like they needed to make a better relationship with Konoha. They were already good allies. She should be going to a less friendly village, like Amegakure, or Iwagakure. But no, he had to send her to Konoha. No matter how much she'd protested. But then he had gotten suspicious and asked her weird questions.

_Flashback_

"_But Gaara I barely got home." Temari exclaimed frustrated._

"_So? I thought you hated staying at one place for too long." Gaara answered calmly._

"_I'm tired." She said._

"_Excuse." A voice said from the corner of the room._

"_You just shut up." she shouted at the boy standing in the shadow. "This does not concern you makeup boy." She then turned towards Gaara. "Send someone else, you know you can send anyone." _

"_But it would be better if I sent you." Her youngest sibling answered._

"_Why?" She asked._

"_Because you are my sister." Gaara answered matter of factly. "If I send someone important from our village, then they will get the impression that we honor their village, which is what we need. We need allies Temari and you know it."_

"_Then send Kankuro, and aren't we allies with Konoha already?" _

_Upon hearing his name, Kankuro came out of the shadow and faced his sister. _

"_I have a different mission." he said looking depressed. "Or else I would've loved to go to Konoha, the weather sure is nice." he sighed._

"_Oh yea sure the weather is the only thing you like about Konoha." Temari said sarcastically. "Don't think I don't know what you do when you go to the fire country." She finished._

"_What does he do?" Gaara asked sounding interested._

"_Oh nothing, he just likes it cause it's filled with sluts." As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted saying them. Now there was no chance of her getting out of this mission by pestering Gaara until he sent Kankuro instead of her. She cursed herself silently then looked at her brothers. Kankuro looked like he had just been slapped. Gaara, well he looked amused._

"_Well if that's the case, I don't think Kankuro should go to Konoha for a while. And how tragic too, I was considering sending him instead of you Temari." Gaara said with a grin._

"_Shit." Kankuro said._

"_Oh come on Gaara don't make me beg." Temari said, not convinced by Gaara's last words. "I'll do anything."_

"_Temari, I thought you liked Konoha, don't your weirdo kunochi friends live there?" Kankuro had gotten over the fact that the fire country was out of reach for a while, and had decided that the only thing that would make him happy at the second would be to make his older sibling miserable was the one asking the question."Why don't you want to go to Konoha?"_

"_Yes Temari, you seemed so happy to be the one going to Konoha last time." Gaara said supporting his older brother._

"_Are you avoiding someone?" This was Kankuro. "Like, oh I don't know, a boy?"_

"_What? What are you talking about?" Temari almost growled. Yes she was trying to avoid someone, because if she saw him again..._

"_Yep, she defiantly is, just look at her face." She came to a conclusion then, she liked her siblings way better when they were trying to kill each other._

"_Oh, let me guess who it is." Smirked Kankuro._

_Gaara joined in (_AN: Gaara's a bit out OC because I didn't want Kankuro to be the only one teasing Temari.)_ " I think it's the shadow boy." Gaara said._

"_Nah," Kankuro answered. "That boy is too weird, Temari wouldn't like him."_

"_But she spends so much time with him." Gaara reasoned._

"_You know what? you're right Gaara." Kankuro said after a moment of thought. "So is it the lazy ass?" he said turning to Temari._

_Gaara spoke before Temari could answer. "It could also be the Hyuga, I heard her say he was cute."_

"_What I never said that." Temari shot back._

"_Naruto then?" Gaara asked._

"_eww." Temari said before she could control herself._

"_Kiba?" Kankuro asked._

"_No, too doggy." Temari answered not knowing why she did._

"_The bug boy?" Gaara tried._

"_I've never talked to him." _

"_Lee?" Kankuro this time._

"_You've got to be kidding me."_

"_The Akimichi?" Gaara asked._

"_The Lee dude is better looking than him." Temari answered._

"_Which leaves only shadow boy." Kankuro said with a knowing smile._

"_Which was our first guess anyways." Gaara included._

_They both looked at Temari, who had started to blush. Only a little though, or at least she hoped._

"_Aw look, she's blushing."_

"_You know Temari I never thought you would fall for someone like him." Gaara said smiling._

"_Yea, he is so average." Kankuro said. "But then again..." he smirked, not for the first time that evening._

_Ok this had gone far enough._

"_Fine," She yelled. "I'll go to Konoha just stop talking."_

"_Oh I think we hit a nerve little bro." _

"_SHUT UP!" Temari yelled. _

_She took the papers on her brother's desk and stormed out of the office almost breaking the door. _

_end of flashback_

Temari sighed, thinking back, she might've revealed too much to her brothers. They would never let her live it down. She was not left to wonder too long though. She heard footsteps and after a few seconds saw Shizune emerge from the Hokage's office.

"Temari-san, the Hokage is ready to see you now." Shizune said.

Temari stood up. Going over what she was going to say in her head. After a moment, she walked in the Hokage's office.

"Temari, great to see you again." Tsunade exclaimed.

"And you, Hokage-sama." Temari answered. "I expect you know why I'm here."

"Of course." Tsunade said. "The Kazekage has informed me of your stay in Konoha."

"Um..." Temari started. "Why am I here again?" She knew that she was to go to Konoha, but she was too pissed off at Gaara to go back and ask him why.

"There is a mission." Tsunade said. " We need more ninja than the ones we can spare. So the Kazekage offered to send you."

"But do you need only one?" Temari asked confused.

"No, but the Kazekage could only spare one." Tsunade answered. "And I figured, one more couldn't hurt." She smiled brightly at the Sand Kunochi which scared her.

Temari nodded. She expected to be giving the Hokage a lecture or something. But she was really wrong. Gaara had given her the impression that she was doing something important, but this was totally different than what she had expected.

Reading her expression, Tsunade said. "Do not get the impression that this mission isn't important."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Temari said.

"I expect you have a place to stay?" The Hokage asked.

"Well, now that you mention it..." Temari began.

"I do have a few ninja that have extra room at their house." Tsunade said going through the papers at her desk. "There is, Akimichi Chouji, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino and..." She paused and smiled. "Nara Shikamaru."

_her heart missed a beat._

"Maybe I should find my own place." Temari said. She didn't want to stay with weirdos, and the last one, well lets just say that she would rather avoid him after what happened last time.

"No, I really think you should stay with one of these people, they can help you understand the mission better." Tsunade said. "If you can't decide who to stay with, I can help you." She was busy looking at the papers again. "My suggestion would be Shikamaru." She said at last. "He appears to live alone in a three bedroom apartment. You would be most comfortable."

"I really don't think..." Temari started to say but she was cut off by the Hokage.

"Then it's settled. I've already told Shikamaru about your staying at his house and he has agreed to it. So you can just move your stuff to his house"

_Oh so she planned it before I came here, who would've thought._ Temari thought. She was about to leave the room when she remembered something.

"Hokage-sama, when will the mission start?" Temari asked.

"In about a week or so." Tsunade answered. As she watched Temari leave, Tsunade noticed that the sand kunochi had not asked where Shikamaru's house was._ Interesting girl, I wonder why Shikamaru would want her to stay at his house._ She thought to herself.

Temari walked around Konoha trying not to go near where the Nara boy lived. She didn't want to see him. She could imagine how he would react, and she wanted to avoid it as long as possible. She walked towards a flower shop, where she was sure she would find Ino. _Finally someone to talk to,_ She thought entering the shop, _and a reason to avoid going to Nara boy's house, _something in the back of her mind said.

"Temari-san, great to see you again." This was Ino, walking towards the counter to greet Temari. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh just passing by," Temari said. "I'm on a mission and I don't have anything to do, so I thought to come and visit you." Temari smiled trying to look innocent. Not that many people knew what went on inside her head, she had made sure of that, but she thought that she had let a word or two slip from her mouth about how she thought Ino was a look obsessed bitch. She hoped Ino had not heard anything.

But she didn't really need to worry. Ino had no clue. As far as the blond Yamanako knew, Temari was a good friend that she loved talking to. So she smiled back.

"Well Temari-san, if you have nothing to do, you can come to my house tonight." Ino said. "I'm having a sleepover, and I would love to have you there."

_A sleepover?_ Temari thought_. How old are you twelve?_

"Sure sounds like fun." She said. "I'll be there."

"Great." Ino sounded happy. "The others will be so glad you came."

"Uh...sure. Well I'll have to go find the place I'm staying at and leave my stuff there."

"Well, where are you staying." Ino asked politely.

Temari made an act of trying to remember where she was supposed to stay. _"_Shikamaru's apartment." The look she received from Ino was scary. Temari didn't know if she should laugh or run. "Tsunade-sama made me stay at his house." She explained. "I would rather stay at a hotel, but Tsunade-sama said I would like it better since Shikamaru's got a bigger apartment." She said as fast as she could.

Ino looked deep in thought for a moment. _(AN: Ino can think?)_ Then she smiled. "Good luck." she said. "Shikamaru's been grouchy for a while now, still haven't figured out why." Ino said.

"Oh thanks." Temari said._ Ok so she didn't get mad. Thank goodness._

"Well, I'll see you at seven." Ino said waving as Temari left the shop.

"Yea."

She reached his house an hour later. Not that it actually took an hour from the Yamanako flower shop, to Shikamaru's house, but she had walked so slow, she was surprised she even reached his house. As she stood in the threshold of the house, trying to figure out if she should knock or just stand there, she heard a movement from inside. A second later, the door opened and a figure stepped outside. Dark eyes stared at her own and she felt her cheeks began to grow warm. _No,_ she thought stubbornly_, No way I'm gonna let something that happened so long ago bother me._ It wasn't that long though, only a month ago...

The surprised expression on the boy's face turned to that of a grin.

"I thought there was someone outside." He said turning around "I thought it was my troublesome mother, but it's you..."_ You're worse_. He simply finished in his mind.

"I...Uh...I..." _Get a hold of yourself. Have you turned soft._ "Hokage-sama-"

"Yea I know." Shikamaru said turning around to face her. When she didn't move he sighed. "Well aren't you going to come inside?"

"I-" She forced herself to move towards the boy. It wasn't like she was feeling scared. Just a weird feeling. A weird feeling that she got around him since her last visit, a weird feeling that had made her do that...

"Yeah." She managed as she went inside.

**AN: Ok well the chapter ends there. Hope you liked it. I have another chapter ready, but I want to see what ppl think of my first chapter. Please be nice and read it. Anyways if Temari was a bit OC well it's my first attempt at a Naruto fanfic so you have to forgive me. Well the next chapter is gonna say what happened that made Temari so embarrassed, and also other couples gonna come to picture. There'll be NaruHina, Nejiten- though i kno she likes Lee i still like this pairing- Ino with idk who yet, and sasusaku. And the main couple of course ShikaTema. **

**Well R&R. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the world would be a better place.**

**AN: Well here's chapter two. I wanted to see how many reviews I get before posting the next chapter. Well thank you to those of you that reviewed. I like knowing that ppl actually read my story. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. And also, who knew 17 year old girls have sleepovers...**

**by the way does Konoha have a park?**

Ch. 2

Temari lay on the bed in the room she had been given. To tell you the truth, it was huge. She didn't think that Shikamaru would be kind enough to give her a room like this, with its own bathroom. Not after what happened. She let out an audible sigh. She was such an idiot. _Why did I do it anyways?_ She asked herself. _It's not like I liked him or anything..._ Or did she? She didn't know. It was true that she was strong as a ninja, but in matters like this, well most of the times she tried to avoid them. She didn't understand them, period. But that day, it seemed like the perfect thing to do. After all, it was just a kiss right? It wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. Just a simple kiss.

_I shouldn't bother myself anyways. _She thought, _If he wanted something, he would've said it by now._

An hour later, she had figured out that she had feelings for Shikamaru (AN:_wow, someones smart_) and that he absolutely hated her. She came to a conclusion then. She would not mention anything about that kiss. Unless he asked her about it...

She looked at the clock. 5 p.m. Two more hours until Ino's sleepover. _Why am I going again?_ She asked herself. Unable to answer the question, she blamed it on a weird girl disease and got up to take a shower.

Shikamaru watched her leave. He hated the way she acted around him. Damn it, this woman was such a pain. When she had left, he got up and went inside her room. He told himself that this wasn't snooping. But what else could it be? He also knew that if she suddenly came back, she would beat the crap out of him. But that didn't stop him from searching every inch of the room.

Well it was no help. The only thing he learned was that Temari wore pink underwear. Big help that was...He wanted something like a diary. To help him understand the events of that day. Though he shouldn't have been surprised that she didn't keep a diary. It would be so unlike Temari. But owning pink underwear was also unlike Temari.

_Damn it Shikamaru, you're supposed to be a genius._ He thought. He sighed and fell on the bed. Closing his eyes, he reviewed the events of that day, trying to make sense of it.

_flashback_

"_Oi, you." Shikamaru called. _

"_I have a name you know." The girl grunted as she walked towards him._

"_too troublesome."He mumbled._

"_Whatever." Temari answered. She was used to this by now, it didn't bother her anymore. "What do you want?" With the chunnin exams over, she didn't think Shikamaru wanted anything to do with her. It was Shikamaru though, and although at first he might seem predictable, after working with him for a couple of years, she had figured out that he was far from it. _

"_What? Oh yea."he said suddenly remembering something. "Godaime asked me to keep you company on your last day in Konoha." he said yawning._

"_You know that yawn wasn't very cool." She said laughing._

"_And since when do I care?" Shikamaru asked slightly annoyed._

"_Oh I don't know," She answered with a weird grin. "You were the one that said he wanted to be a good example, you know, a cool adult." she finished._

"_What a pain." He said, getting more and more impatient by the second.. But there was a smile playing around his lips. A very rare smile he didn't show everyone. "Well let's walk around. Maybe we'll find something interesting." he said though his tone of voice said the exact opposite._

_They had seen Naruto, Sakura, and the newly returned Sasuke, with Naruto laughing and the Uchiha looking annoyed. Now that Sasuke was back, Naruto seemed happier. If Shikamaru had considered the facts, he would've come to the conclusion that Naruto was less annoying now. Towards him anyways. He didn't care that the Uchiha was back. But the members of team 7 did and he thought he was happy for them._

"_Shikamaru, I'm tired lets sit down somewhere." Temari said._

"_You want to go to my house? it's around here."Shikamaru answered._

"_Yea, sure."_

_They had walked the rest of the way in silence with Shikamaru leading the way and Temari memorizing it._

_When they walked inside, Temari whistled._

"_Nice place." She said._

"_Thanks." he had said and walking over to the couch, he sat down. She came and sat down next to him._

"_So...Shikamaru...what's up?" She had asked him._

"_The clouds?" he answered, his voice hinting that he wanted to go see them, instead of siting here trying to have a conversation with a very troublesome girl._

"_Shika-"but she was cut off._

"_Get to the point already." he said not caring that she could hit him really hard with that huge fan of hers. "You have a question?"_

_She seemed to consider this for a moment. Trying to figure out if she did or not._

"_Well I was just trying to make conversation," she said. "But I guess I'll ask a question."_

"_Well hurry up." he yawned making his words hardly understandable. _

"_Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked curiosity filling her words._

"_What?" He asked surprised._

"_Do-You-Have-A-Girlfriend?" She asked again._

"_No."he mumbled._

"_Well why not?" she asked._

"_Because I don't like anyone." He answered._

"_You mean no one likes you." She said with an evil grin on her face._

"_No I mean, I've never been interested in a girl before." he said defending his honor, or at least trying to._

"_So your gay?" She asked trying to disguise the laughter in her voice._

"_What the hell? Why would I be gay?" He asked the girl sitting in front of him. "I just haven't found a girl that I liked."_

"_And no one's ever told you that they love you or something?" she asked sounding sad._

"_Yes." he answered._

"_Oh, poor Shikamaru." She said "Never experienced love."_

_he blinked._

"_Look why do you care.?" he'd asked glaring at her._

"_because..." She leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips pressing against his. He was sure he was blushing. He was so surprised he couldn't move or do anything. Well even if he could, what would he do?_

_After a moment, Temari drew back. She looked at him and seemed to realize what she had done. Her hands moving towards her mouth. She mumbled something and ran out of the door, leaving a very confused Shikamaru to try to figure out what had happened. He had sat there all day trying to gather his feelings, not succeeding at all._

_end of flashback_

He opened his eyes and looked at the clock. 7:20 p.m. Maybe he should go outside and get some fresh air. _Or maybe I should go see a doctor, I'm sure I'm sick. _But he knew he wasn't sick. He was just...lovesick? What the hell had this girl done to him? Not that she wasn't pretty. She was actually beautiful. But she was so scary when fighting. Way scarier than his mom could ever hope to be. But he couldn't help the feeling he got when he was around her. And it had become stronger since she kissed him.

He got up, cursing in the process. _Well a walk wouldn't be that bad_. He got his keys and left the house.

As he walked through Konoha, he saw a giggling Naruto talking to a very curious bunch of boys. His curiosity triggered, _(who knew he had it in him)_ he walked over to them.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked looking the their faces. There was Naruto-of course- , Sasuke-who went everywhere with Naruto now-, Neji, Lee, Chouji, Kiba minus Akamaru, and _Shino? _Just what the hell was going on?

Naruto snickered. "Ino's having a sleepover." He answered.

"And?" _How old is she twelve?_

"What do you mean and? We're gonna go and spy on them." Kiba answered.

Shikamaru sighed. These boys were supposed to be smart. "And who's going?"

"Tenten." said Lee.

"Sakura." This was Sasuke.

"Hinata." Kiba grinned.

"And," Naruto paused for dramatic effects. "Temari." Just as Naruto had hoped, Shikamaru now looked interested. Ha_ I was right, he does like her. "_So you're coming or what?"

"What? Are you guys crazy? If any of these girls figure out that we've been spying on them, we will be dead." Shikamaru said.

Naruto didn't miss the_ we_ in his sentence. "So you _are_ coming?" he asked.

"I got nothing better to do." he yawned.

"Great then lets go." Naruto shouted. All the other boys sighed as they followed him.

_Why did I agree to this?_ Temari asked herself, not for the first time that night. Twenty year old girls did not go to sleepovers, but then again, this was better than staying with Shikamaru. She sighed looking at the other girls. Tenten and Sakura had become her friends. She liked Hinata, though the Hyuga girl was too shy. And there was Ino, making up the rules for a new game they were supposed to play. She could tolerate Ino, but as far as friends went, Temari thought better than to get any close to the girl. She watched Ino yap on and on about a new game and its rules. _Damn it,_ she thought, _now I have to play too._ She heard a rustling outside and looked towards the window. Was it possible that they were being spied on? No, who would be stupid enough to spy on five strong kunochi?

Someone hit her with a pillow. "Ow, who was that?" She looked to see all the other girls giggling.

"Temari, who were you thinking about?" Tenten teased.

"What the hell?" She asked annoyed.

"Oh come on, you had to be thinking of someone." Tenten said. "You were deep in thought."

"You know what, forget the game what we were gonna play, lets play truth or dare." Ino declared.

"Truth or dare?" Temari asked annoyed. She didn't like that game unless it was played with Kankuro and Gaara, they were fun. But these girls? They were definitely not Truth or dare material.

"Why you hiding something?" Ino asked.

"You guys just aren't good enough to play truth or dare with me?" Temari said, moving from her position on Ino's bed and went to sit in the circle of the girls. "But I guess I'll play."

"Ok I'll go first." Ino anounced. No one protested.

"Ok, um, Sakura." Ino pointed to the pink haired girl. "Truth or dare?"

Sakura considered this for a moment. Not that she was scared, but knowing Ino, she would make Sakura do a very disgusting dare.

"Truth." She said as Temari rolled her eyes, these girls were chickens. She let her thoughts wonder again. To the mission she was to do. When she looked back at Sakura, the girl was deeply blushing and trying to find a way to tell the truth but not get embarassed.

"Well, he...he...ok fine I still like him you happy?" She yelled at Ino.

"Huh, _I'm_ over that weird Uchiha boy." Ino said.

"That's because now you like Shikamaru." Temari snapped to attention at the mention of the name.

"Eww no way." Ino said. "I don't like him." she shuddered.

"What's wrong with him?" Temari asked. She was annoyed by the way Ino had talked about Shikamaru. _Uh-oh. _ She realized her mistake too late as four pairs of eyes turned towards her.

"Ooh, defending him." Tenten giggled poking Hinata. Even the shy Hyuga looked a bit interested. She told herself to stay calm. These girls knew nothing about what happened. Or at least, she hoped.

"I knew you were spending too much time with him." Ino said smiling.

"What if I am?" Temari snapped. There was the rustling in the bushes again. "He is my friend, of course I'd defend him, because unlike someone," She turned to Ino "I actually value my friends." Ino didn't believe her, but she decided it would be better to leave the sand girl alone. She found an easier target, sitting there playing with her hair.

"So Hinata, have you told Naruto that you love him?" Ino asked.

"Wh-wh-what?" she asked turning red.

"Oh come on Hinata we'd have to be stupid not to notice that you have been crushing on him for such a long time." Tenten smiled. "I think you should tell him."

"But-"

"No buts," Tenten teased.

Temari felt bad for the girl, so she decided to defend her, seeing as she was going through the same thing as Hinata.

"Shut up Tenten, you dream of Neji." Temari said.

"What no I don't." Tenten looked surprised.

"Yes you do...or was it that eyebrow freak...I'm not sure," Temari winked at Hinata.

"Yes Tenten-chan, you were looking at Lee-san with a weird look on your face." Hinata added, gaining a bit of confidence.

"What no I wasn't." Tenten said blushing. Trying to get the attention away from herself, Tenten turned to Ino. "So Ino, who do you like?"

"No one," Ino stated.

"Yea right. That's not possible." Sakura said.

"Well it's not Shikamaru-san." Hinata said. "Is it Chouji-san?"

"WHAT?" Ino yelled surprised. "No way I like that Fa- I mean uh bigboned idiot."

"Ooh offensive." Temari joined in. "That means you really really like him." (_AN: haha stole it from step up)_

"Shut up." Ino yelled.

"ooh nice comeback." Temari laughed.

"ugh" Ino stormed out of the room.

Not far away a group of very surprised boys watched the four girls laugh and Ino left the room. They did expect to find out their secrets but never anything like this.

Shikamaru was the first to talk. "Well this was pointless," He said. "I didn't find out anything new." _Something like an explanation for that kiss?_

"What are you talking about Shikamaru? You mean you knew all of this?" Naruto asked.

"It's not that hard to figure out idiot." Shikamaru explained "everyone knows that Hinata loves you, Sakura never got over Sasuke, Tenten is in denial about who she likes, and it's been a few weeks since I started to notice that Ino's behavior towards Chouji has changed." he sighed. "Girls are so troublesome. But its been a long time since I started to understand them."_ Well expect that one..._

"Well then fine genius" Sasuke commented. "But you didn't say anything about the Suna girl." he said with a smirk.

"Yes, Shikamaru she defended you in a weird way." Chouji said.

"It might have sounded weird but didn't you hear her explanation? I'm her friend of course she'd defend me." he sighed. _Yea well at least now I know how she feels._

"But when she said that, her chackra system indicated that she was lying." Neji said in a monotone. "meaning she was only trying to save the situation."

"What your byakugan was on?" Naruto asked.

"You pervert." Kiba indicated.

"What?" Neji asked.

"You were spying with your byakugan on." Kiba answered.

"So what? It's not like it can see through clothes." Neji answered with a grin.

_He's lying._ Thought the seven boys at the same time.

"Well I'm leaving." Shikamaru yawned. "I have to wake up early tomorow, how troublesome."

The other boys looked towards the window, then nodded and decided they should leave too. Nothing better to find out anymore. In a second, they were gone.

**AN: Ok so I know this chapter was lame. But I swear I'll try to write better. Hope you enjoyed it. Well R&R . Ah u might've noticed, i decided to pair ino with chouji. I sorta like tat pairing now, after readin a lot about it. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, don't sue.**

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**AN: Thanx to those of u who reviewed. I hope this chapter is less lame than the last one. Well anyways. I'm really going out of my way for this story. I like it, I hope other ppl will like it too. By the way, is that story about Gaara and a teddy bear true? Cause u know that would be good for possible blackmail...**

**Also I would like to mention a friend-she growled at me for saying friend, cause shes my best friend-of mine, MHG who first introduced me to Naruto and Fanfiction and inspired me to write my first fanfic. And she also asked me to mention that she is very very crazy and that she loves chocalate, Inuyasha, and Sasuke. She's also my editor, Anyways Thank u MHG and all the other nice ppl that reviewed here's the third chapter.**

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Ch. 3

_Well that sleepover was pointless._ Temari sighed and threw herself on the bed. She had a week to relax, a week with Shikamaru. That would be troublesome. _Troublesome? What? Now I'm using his word?_ Damn him to hell. And it didn't help that now she had made Ino suspicious. And Ino, being Ino, would tell the whole world. _Well, might as well go ask Shikamaru about the mission, it would take my mind off_ _other stuff. But then again, talking to Shikamaru would be a challenge._ She sighed and reminded herself not to blush, but as she was leaving the room, something caught her eye. It was one of her panties, it had been taken out of her bag and was now resting on the drawer._ Has someone been snooping in my room?_ She reminded herself to ask Shikamaru about it later and left the room.

She found him sitting on the balcony looking up at the clouds. _What a surprise!_ She forced herself to walk towards him.

"Hi crybaby." She said sitting down next to him. "Watching clouds as always ha?"

He looked at her sighing. "Well I was..."

"Oh how sad that I had to interrupt you." She said not sounding sad at all.

_Not really,_ he thought. "hm.."

"Well," She said. "How's life in Konoha?"

"What you have another question?"

"What?" She asked taken by surprise. _Is he trying to bring that up?_ "Well as a matter of fact, I do." she said annoyed.

"shit."

"It doesn't concern you, it concerns the mission I'm here for." _Well too bad lazy ass, I'm not going to let you embarrass me._

"Oh that mission," He started looking back at the clouds. She watched him until her patience ran out.

"Well are you going to answer me?"

"No." He answered simply.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why won't you answer me?" She was getting pissed now.

"Because I don't want to." he didn't even look at her.

"But you're supposed to." She tried to calm herself, with no success.

"I'm also supposed to be teaching a class in the academy, but you don't see me there do you?" he grinned.

"What? you're supposed to be at the academy?"_ His laziness knows no boundaries._ "What the hell are you doing at home?"

"Oh, I like the company better." That stupid grin was expanding.

"Really?" She was starting to soften. "Well I couldn't imagine how the company of a very annoyed Sand Kunochi is better than a classroom of kids who admire you."

"It's not," He said yawning to try to cover his lie.

"Well," She got up and walked away. No point in embarrassing herself in front of this guy. Once was enough.

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He watched her walk away and cursed. Now she was mad. She hadn't even talked that much and hadn't hit him, not even once. Which was unlike her. She usually talked until he pretended to fall sleep, then she'd hit him on the head with her fan, knowing that he was just pretending, and start talking again, ignoring his curses. He sighed. This was so troublesome, this girl was too much work, probably way more work than his mother-or any woman for that matter- had ever been. But he didn't know why he felt weird whenever he was around her. He was starting to get used to it, but then she had to go and kiss him. And he'd been busy trying to figure out why in the past month. Ino had called him grouchy, but that was just Ino. He couldn't ask his dad, that'd be too embarrassing. If only Asuma was alive...

But he kicked that idea out in a matter of seconds. No way he was gonna sulk about Asuma's death now, after two years, he'd gotten used to it anyways. And he loved Kurenai's daughter, so no point in thinking about that now. He forced his mind to go back to the problem at hand. Who could he ask? None of the boys he knew ever had girl problems. Except Sasuke, but he never actually _liked_ anyone. He just had a group of girls running after him. Naruto and Lee should be out of the picture, they never had girlfriends, _or_ girls chasing after them. Unless you counted Hinata, but Naruto was too stupid to figure it out. Kiba never had another companion besides his dog. Neji was, well he was Neji, which was enough explanation. Shino always seemed mysterious, maybe he'd know something? But then again, the boy was covered in bugs, and Shikamaru was sure most girls hated that. And there was Kakashi too, after becoming a jounin, Shikamaru had spent a lot of time with Kakashi, which made him think that maybe he shouldn't ask the older genius. But he was the only one at the time that had any experience with romance, or at least Shikamaru hoped he had. _Well, _Shikamaru thought, _It's either him or bug boy._

Shikamaru got up from his position, and went inside, grabbing his keys, he left the house.

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He saw Naruto and Hinata, which he chose to ignore. Neji, Lee, and Tenten, Lee and Neji looked like they were questioning Tenten. And Chouji and Ino, who he purposely avoided. He also saw Sakura and Sasuke, with Sakura talking and Sasuke looking very annoyed. Ah, there, he finally found Kakashi, reading his book _(AN: gay porn)_-as always- and paying no attention to his surroundings. Shikamaru walked up to him.

"Yo." Kakashi said without looking up.

"hn." Shikamaru answered.

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Moody aren't we?" he asked.

"Yea." Shikamaru answered honestly.

"Am I allowed to ask why?" Kakashi asked.

"Yea." he tried to cover the look of embarrassment on his face.

Kakashi noticed it and smiled. Though it really was hard to tell when he was smiling since 99 of his face was covered behind his mask. "Well it must be big if it's got someone like _you_ embarrassed. It's hard to get any emotion out of you."

"Uh...thanks?" he said sarcastically. "It's this girl." he went on.

"A girl?" Kakashi asked surprised. Didn't Shikamaru say that girls were troublesome?

"Yea, she's been acting so weird around me. One day it's like she likes me, and the other she acts like we're only friends..." he blurted.

"Who?" Kakashi asked interested.

"That doesn't matter." Shikamaru answered. He didn't want to tell Kakashi any more than he had to.

"hm..." Kakashi said thinking. _This is like one of the Icha Icha Paradise books._ He thought. _How exiting. "_ How does she act around you?" he asked.

"Well, she always tried to get me to talk." He answered thinking back to the times when Temari had asked him questions non-stop until he had pretended to have a seizure."But not since her last visit."

he thought back. "Now she's avoiding me completely and won't talk to me unless she has to."_ That's not true, she came to talk to you today and you got her angry, just like alway._

"Visit? So she's not native to Konoha?" Kakashi asked. He was starting to get an idea about who this girl was.

"What? I never said that." Shikamaru tried to lie. But Kakashi was way more experienced than him and easily saw through his lie. _I think I know who the girl is now._ "Well where is she staying?"

"At my house, I asked the Hokage to let her stay at my house during the mission." Shikamaru said abandoning his act, Kakashi could see through them anyways. " I wanted to talk to her about what happened last time she visited."

"What happened the last time she visited Konoha?" _Now I'm sure, Godaime told me she was here on a mission._

"Well," he started. " she...uh..." he tried.

"She did something?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"yea..." it seems that his sandals had suddenly become very interesting.

"Well?"

"We were just talking and then she kissed me." yep, the boy was defiantly blushing.

"Then what?"

"She ran away with her hand on her mouth." Shikamaru said finally looking up into Kakashi's eyes, uh eye.

Kakashi chucked. "The girl was embarrassed." he said simply. "She's probably waiting for you to make the next move."

"But you don't know her." Shikamaru argued. "She's so stubborn. And she loves joking around. What if this is one of her jokes?" he asked.

"Might be," Kakashi answered. "But you won't know until you try right?"

"hn." Shikamaru said as a form of goodbye. He got up but Kakashi spoke before he could leave.

"I don't think the Kazekage will like the idea that you're crushing on his sister." Kakashi said mischievously, and with that, he disappeared leaving a very dumbfounded Shikamaru behind.

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Not far away, Sakura and Ino were discussing the same topic with two very annoyed looking boys.

_Damn, where the hell is Naruto, had to leave me with this one._ Sasuke thought.He didn't think that this matter concerned either him or the Akimichi boy sitting next to him, but Naruto was out there trying to woo Hinata-since he figured out that she liked him, which was yesterday, he'd started to like her-,and Sasuke had decided that tagging along with Sakura would be better than sitting at home. Boy was he wrong. In the last thirty minutes, the two girls had yapped on and on about Temari and how she had defended Ino's lazy teammate as if she'd liked him. He looked at Chouji, who looked equally as annoyed with the two girls.

"I mean she could've at least admitted it" Ino screamed. "Did you know that she's staying at his house?"

"Well you know Ino, she could like him as a friend." Sakura said.

"Yea whatever." Ino said. Bored with Sakura, she turned towards Chouji. "What do you think Chouji?"

"I think that this doesn't concern us." Chouji answered looking at the barbecue restaurant in front of them. "But I think we should go eat." he said cheerfully.

"Chouji stop being a glutton." Ino yelled "Shikamaru _is_ your best friend."

"That doesn't make it ok to gossip about his love life." Chouji said. "But we really should go eat, I'm hungry."

At that moment, Ino screamed. "We could go as couples."

"Like a double date." Sakura said smiling.

"What?" _I never agreed to this._ Thought a very annoyed Sasuke. He looked towards Chouji for support. But the fa-big boned boy looked happy.

"Ok." Chouji agreed. "Well, who's on a date with who?" he asked looking at Ino.

"Forehead girl can go with Sasuke-kun." Ino said looking at the ground. "Chouji and me will go together" she looked around and everyone nodded. Even Sasuke. Ino smiled. "Lets go, you guys are paying." She pointed at the two boys and entered the restaurant. Sakura smiled at Sasuke and followed Ino inside.

"What did I get myself into?" he mumbled.

"Don't worry, they don't eat a lot." Chouji said as he went inside after Sakura. Sasuke grumbled again and entered the restaurant.

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"So, Hinata, you want ramen?" Naruto asked cheerfully. "You know Ichiraku Ramen is the best."

"I...Uh...I...Um.." Hinata blushed deeply. Naruto was actually holding her hand. It was a surprise that she hadn't fainted yet. But asking her to talk in that state was a little too much.

"Is that a yes?"

All Hinata could do was nod her head. Naruto gripped her hand tighter and nearly dragged her to Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hey old man," Naruto said as he moved the curtains and entered the restaurant. He pulled a chair back for Hinata, and making sure she was comfortable, sat down next to her (_AN: who knew Naruto was a gentleman?)_

"I see you have a friend with you." The old man winked at Naruto.

"Yea."Naruto grinned.

"So the usual?" The man asked Naruto. (_AN: I dont kno his name, XP)_

"Aha, What do you want Hinata?" Naruto turned towards her.

"I-same thing as you, Naruto-kun." Hinata managed.

"Ok!"

Naruto had barely started eating when Neji and Lee entered the Ramen shop, looking very depressed.

"Neji-nisan what's the matter?" Hinata asked.

"Huh, oh." Neji had barely realized that Hinata was sitting next to him. "Nothing Hinata-sama." Neji smiled.(_ AN: I've only seen Neji smile 3 times,I didn't kno he could smile so easily...)_

"No, Neji-nisan I can see that something is wrong." Hinata persisted.

Lee sighed. Neji wasn't going to answer this, so he might as well get it over with. "Tenten beat us up."

"WHAT?!?" Naruto yelled.

"Yea." Lee answered. "We were trying to question her about her youthful heart, but she got annoyed with us and single handedly defeated me and Neji." Neji growled, while Lee went on. "Who knew that Hyuga Neji, and me, would get beaten so fast by a girl." Lee finished.

Neji slammed his hand on the bar, making Hinata's ramen spill. Hinata looked at Neji's flushed face, and a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Did you let her beat you, Neji-nisan?" Hinata asked. "Maybe because you have some unknown feelings towards her." It was only a hunch, but as she watched Neji, she was sure that she had guessed right.

"I don't know, Hinata-sama." Neji answered honestly, if there was one person he could trust, it would be Hinata.

"WHAT?!?" Naruto and Lee yelled at the same time.

"Neji...you like Tenten?" Lee said. "Why didn't you tell me???"

"Shut up Lee,"Neji answered annoyed, he had forgotten that Naruto and Lee where listening to the conversation. "I never said I liked her."

"That explains it." Lee went on, ignoring Neji. "I knew she beat us too easily. I wasn't trying, because well, I didn't care, and she is our comrade and teammate, but Neji, you were worse than the first time I saw you fight."

"This is so cool, dattebayo, wait until I tell everyone." Naruto cheered. "Who knew Neji was straight." T_his was meant as an insult towards Neji_, Lee thought,_ We all saw Neji spying at the girls with his byakugan on._

"What did you say?" Neji asked, his temper rising.

"Neji-nisan I could help you understand your feelings." Hinata offered. She turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, but I think I should help Neji-nisan right now." Hinata took Neji's arm, and with a strength that she didn't know she had dragged him out of the ramen shop, leaving a very amazed Naruto behind.

"She ditched me." He said depressed. "The only girl that ever liked me...and she ditched me."

"Is that why you took her out on a date?" Lee asked suspiciously. "Because if that's the case, you deserved to be ditched."

"She ditched me, and I was starting to like her." Naruto said talking to his ramen bowl.

"Well technically Naruto-kun..." Lee started,

"She ditched me," Naruto said again, not paying attention to anything else.

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Shikamaru slowly walked home. He thought over what he was going to say to Temari in his head. _I don't know why you kissed me, but I wanted to say that I like you._ It sounded really of lame, he thought, but his brain couldn't think of anything better at the time. And he was supposed to be a genius. He wondered how normal people handled situations like this. He reached his house, and, opening the door carefully, went inside. He looked around to see if Temari was in the living room or the kitchen. But she wasn't there, he decided to look in her bedroom next.

The door wasn't open, but Shikamaru didn't bother to knock, it wasn't like she was doing something private. _(AN: he really doesn't kno how a girl's mind works.)_ He reached for the handle and opened the door. What he saw next took the breath out of him.

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Temari had barely came out of the shower when she heard the door. _He's back_, she thought. She looked down at herself. _Maybe I should put something on._ But as she reached for the towel, she heard the handle turn and the door to her room opened. Temari froze, hadn't she locked the door? But she couldn't worry about that now, _he_ was at the door, and she wasn't wearing anything.

_What am I going to do now?_ She asked herself. Her cheeks began to feel hot, and she could feel his eyes on her back, _Why won't he look away?_ She thought desperately. She forced herself to move, to look at his him, maybe she could...

She turned around. Her body facing his,she saw that he was blushing. He seemed to be following something down her body. She looked at his eyes, and saw something there that surprised her. It was at that moment that she regained control over her voice.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" She heard herself yell. "GET OUT!"

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Shikamaru gasped at the naked figure in front of him. All the things he was going to say flew out of his head as he watched her, she was still wet from the shower.

_I shouldn't be here._ His logical side told him. But his body was frozen in place. _She's going to kill me._ He told himself. _She's going to kill me, bring me back to life, then kill me again._ But his body wouldn't move no mater how hard he tried.

It took her an eternity to turn around. He watched her head turn, then her body. He knew he was blushing. She looked at him, her face red. _She's angry,_he thought. _She'll never forgive me. _But he couldn't help staring at her perfect form. His eyes caught a drop of water as it freed itself from her hair and made its way down her body, past her breast, down her waist and thighs and disappeared somewhere beneath her knee. Something awakened in Shikamaru then, something strange that scared even him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" He was startled out of his daze when he heard her voice. "GET OUT." That was the motivation he needed. He didn't need to be told twice, he turned around and ran out of the room. Forgetting to close the door behind him.

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**AN: End of chapter three. I put other couples in there...i hope it was good. Anyways i had a really bad case of writer's block this week so...u have to forgive. Anyways hope u enjoyed it and don't forget to review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, but the story was totally my idea.**

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**AN: OK so here's the forth chapter, I was thinking of thanking the ppl that reviewed. Since I can't think of any other AN, so thank u all of you that reviewed. I'm also thinking of changing the title of the story due to the fact that it's offensive to some ppl, so if you have any ideas, please review and tell me, because right now, i can't think of anything. Also my friend wanted me to advertise her story, so here it is.**

**Rose: If you love Spirited Away and thought that the ending sucked, then go read _If only_, by **Moonlight Hanayou Girl**. We can guarantee that you will enjoy the story if not, we will give you your time back. **

**Lily:What the hell kind of advertisement was that? Now ppl will never go read my story.**

**Rose: You only asked me to advertise you didnt say how. Right Naruto?**

**Naruto: busy reading _If Only_**

**Rose: Ha, see Naruto is reading it.**

**Lily: Yea yea wutever.**

**Rose: Even Naruto likes the story. So go read it. (its optional)**

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_**Desert Rose: **__**(Mythical Plant)**__**a rose that grows only in the hottest, driest depths of the desert. To eat the petals of the rose will cause the person to fall in love with the first person they see.**_

**I changed the rose a little to my liking. Now it's the most beautiful flower in the world and also it can never wither, i like my version of the rose way better.**

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Ch. 4

Shikamaru ran out of the house. He didn't know why. It was his house after all. But there was a very angry kunochi inside, and he decided that anywhere was better than the house. He didn't stop until he got to the Yamanako flower shop. Maybe he'd be safe here? Well, he couldn't think of a better place so he went inside.

He was surprised to find Chouji there, talking-and laughing- to Ino. They didn't hang out together, just finished their missions, then parted. But he had no time to worry about that now. He walked up to the counter panting and managed to receive a very annoyed look from Ino, what was going on?

"Hey man," Chouji smiled. When Shikamaru had entered the shop, he looked slightly annoyed too, but the good hearted Akimichi had gotten over that and was, as always, very friendly. "What's wrong?"

"Yea, you look like you've just seen a ghost," Ino added. Her voice had that annoyed tone to it, but Shikamaru ignored it.

"Actually," He said looking at his friends "It's worse."

"Worse?" Chouji asked, he couldn't think of anything worse that seeing a ghost, wait... "Did someone steal your food?"

"Chouji, there are things more important than your food being stolen." Ino scowled.

"I can't think of anything worse," Chouji shrugged.

"I can," Ino said. "Did someone say you were ugly?"

Shikamaru tried his best not to yell at the two. Didn't they have any intelligence.

"No Chouji, no one stole my food, and even if they did, I wouldn't care," He then turned to Ino, "Ino, there are worse things in the world than being called ugly," He managed to receive angry looks from his friends "troublesome..." He muttered.

"Well then, tell us Mr. Smarty pants." _What's wrong with Shikamaru today?_ Ino thought annoyed. _He's usually less grouchy._

"I can't," Shikamaru said sticking his hands in his pockets. "You'll just make fun of me." _Not that I care but I don't want anyone else to know._

"Come on, we're your friends, why would we make fun of you?" Chouji reasoned.

"It's not you I'm worried about Chouji." Shikamaru shot a meaningful glance at Ino, which made Chouji laugh.

Ino caught that glance. "Oh yea? Well why did you come here then?" She asked, very annoyed.

"I needed protection." He sighed.

"Protection?" Ino and Chouji asked at the same time.

"From what?" Ino asked. This could be great gossip.

"No way I'm telling you Ino," Shikamaru said, "You'll tell everyone."

"I will not."

"You think I don't know you after six and somewhat years?" _I'm not an Idiot._

"Whatever, I'm gonna go water the flowers in the other room." Ino left the room leaving Shikamaru and Chouji alone, _I can get it out of Chouji later. Or better, _She went to the eastern wall and removed a picture, from there, she could see-and hear- everything in the main room.

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"So Shikamaru, are you going to tell me what happened?" Chouji asked after Ino left the room.

"I don't know, honestly." not that he didn't trust Chouji, but it was the way Ino had looked at them when she'd left the room that made him nervous. She had that look in her eyes, the one that said, I'll figure it out sooner or later. Shikamaru didn't want people to know about what had happened, and if Ino found out, well, it wouldn't help."Will you tell Ino?" He asked Chouji suspiciously.

"Of course not," Chouji sounded offended.

"Well, I..." Shikamaru started telling his friend the events of that day, oblivious to the blond listening through an air hole in the other room. Suddenly, they heard a scream from the other room. A few seconds later, Ino rushed out, with her hand over her mouth.

"You saw WHAT?" She screamed at Shikamaru.

"Ino, you were listening? Mendokse..." Shikamaru mumbled.

"I can't believe it." She was still screaming. "I can't believe it, someone like you, you're supposed to be smart Shikamaru, don't you know you have to knock before you enter a girl's room?"

"How was I supposed to know, I'm not a girl" Shikamaru huffed.

"That's not a good enough excuse!" Ino had stopped screaming, but she sounded frustrated. "Shikamaru...ugh."

"Hoi, Shikamaru," Chouji's voice sounded amused. Shikamaru turned to his other teammate, _What now?_ " Demo, why did you go in her room in the first place?"

"I wanted to talk to her about something." _I never noticed what color of blue my sandals were..._

"huh..."Ino and Chouji were dumbfounded. Shikamaru looked embarrassed.

"Oh my gosh Shikamaru," Ino yelled putting the pieces together. "You like her."

"No duh, Ino, don't you know what happened last-" Chouji's words were muffled as Shikamaru put one hand on his mouth.

"No she doesn't, and I would appreciate it if she didn't find out." He whispered in Chouji's ear. He looked at Chouji, and, after receiving a nod, removed his hand.

"Oh, I thought she knew." Chouji said as he tried to catch his breath.

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Shikamaru left the flower shop after he made sure that Ino would keep quite. He didn't want to go back to the house. It was true that he was only seventeen, but it wasn't like he was inexperienced with the way of women. And he knew that Temari would be mad, no matter what he tried.

_I never realized how beautiful she really was,_ he wasn't paying any attention to where he was going. _ How troublesome, this changes my whole life plan._ He told himself he could win her over, he just needed a good strategy,_ Lets just hope that the children go according to plan. (AN: how did he get so confident all of a sudden?)_

"Hey Shikamaru watch where you're going!" The loud voice brought him back to reality.

"Huh, what?" Not that he didn't know that voice, there wasn't a single person in Konoha that didn't. He looked around realizing that Naruto wasn't alone. "What is it?"

"You bumped into me." Naruto pointed to Lee who was grinning slightly. "Lee saw it."

"Sorry Naruto." He sounded so censier, Naruto shrank back.

"What's wrong Shikamaru?" He asked eying the young Nara suspiciously, "You seem to be in a different world dattebayo!"

"Explosion of youth?" Lee offered.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that. What nonsense! He shrugged and apologized again, then tried to leave. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on tell us what's wrong?" _When did Naruto become so nice?_ Shikamaru mused.

"Nothing, leave me alone." Ino would tell them anyway. He just walked away, his thoughts troubled. Naruto would ask Ino, Ino would spill everything happily, and Naruto-being loud and obnoxious- would tell the whole world. He would be screwed, literally. Temari would make sure of that.

_Temari_, her essence, her whole being, woke something inside of him. He tried to remember when it had happened. Was it when she kissed him? No, it couldn't be. This feeling, it was different. He tried to explain it. One word came to his mind,

_Desire._

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Temari shivered. She had dressed a long time ago. But she couldn't imagine how she would be able to live after what happened. Shikamaru was a boy. Yes he was one of a kind, but he was a boy no less. And she knew boys. She knew what all of them wanted. That's why she had promised herself never to fall for one. That was, before she had realized that her heart beat harder every time he was around. It was the way he was, how he was always caught off guard whenever she smiled at him. She guessed he hadn't seen girls that smiled, a true smile, not a fake one. And he was the only boy that had outsmarted her so easily. Yes, she had underestimated him at first, but so what? He had simply won. And then, he had saved her life. He could've let the girl help her, but he hadn't._ Return the favor._ The words echoed in her mind. _A girl saving a guy, I can't leave things that way._ That's all he had said. But wasn't he worried? Only a little? She sighed, he had shown her around Konoha on her first visit as the ambassador. He had done it without complaining. _So unlike him._ And the way he had looked at her today, it had scared her. There was something in his eyes that had not been there before. Shikamaru never showed any emotion. Yet, there it was, burning into her skin. What was it? She needed to figure it out.

_Achoo!_

_Did I catch a cold?_

She tried to ignore the itching in her nose and concentrate.

_Achoo!_

_What the hell?_

She began to think that she had caught a cold.

_Achoo!_

Her gaze fell on the drawer. Suddenly something came to her. She opened the drawer and found what she was looking for. She opened the book to the marked page and one word caught her eye. She shivered as realization hit her.

_I knew he was just like all the other boys. So that's what he wants._

She found a paper and pencil and wrote the word on a single paper.

_Desire._

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"Shikamaru" Tenten was waving at him. Lee and Naruto were next to her.

"We heard about your problem." Naruto yelled.

_What? Ino told them already?_ He sighed.

"Well I think that it's your youth. You could offer her your prayers. Or your eternal love. Or a flower. I heard girls love roses. If you could get her a desert rose, it would be great, because girls love that kind of things. I could help you for I have tried my chance a lot with Sakura-san. But she is always ignoring me. I don't know maybe I should get her a rose..."Lee would've rambled on if Tenten hadn't stopped him.

"Lee shut up," Tenten said annoyed. "Desert roses are a myth, I think. And if you try to get sakura again she'll hit you!"

"Desert roses aren't a myth." Lee said with a knowing look, "Gai-sensei saw one."

"Yea, but Gai is always drunk." Tenten shook her head. _Why do I like this guy again?_

"What? Don't ever insult Gai-sensei,"Lee shouted. "He is the best ninja ever, right Shikamaru?" Lee looked at Shikamaru, barely figuring out that the lazy Nara wasn't even listening to their conversation.

_Desert Rose_

_Suna no Temari_

_desert_

_sand_

_Perfect!_

"Shikamaru?" Lee asked confused.

Shikamaru looked at Lee "Thanks Lee, I owe you one" He said before running off.

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He ran back to the Yamanaka flower shop as fast as he could. Panting he looked at Ino trying to catch his breath.

"Ino, do you know if that story about desert roses is true?"

"What?" Ino was shocked. Since when did Shikamaru care about flowers. "Well I..."

"Come on Ino please?" He was begging. Shikamaru was actually begging.

"Desert Roses" Ino said deep in thought. Her father had mentioned them a few days ago. But Ino hadn't been listening. She was busy trying to figure out how Sai could look so cute even with pink on. "My father might know something." She offered Shikamaru a look of apology.

"Where is your dad?" he asked desperately.

Ino pointed to the ceiling. "he took today off. He's probably sleeping upstairs." Shikamaru turned and ran towards the stairs that led to the house.

"I wouldn't wake him up if i were..." But Shikamaru was out of earshot.

"You." Ino finished talking to the rose next to her.

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Inoichi Yamanaka was sleeping peacefully when he was shaken awake by a mini Shikaku. He blinked twice realizing that it wasn't Shikaku but his son.

"Oi what do you want?" Inoichi sat up looking very annoyed.

"Desert roses," Shikamaru started. "What do you know about them?"

Inoichi looked shocked. He yawned and looked at Shikamaru "Why do you want to know?"

"Is it real?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes it's real," Inoichi sighed. "But it's very rare. It won't make you fall in love with the next person you see, it's only quality is beauty. And it's very, very expensive."

"Do you have any in your shop?" Shikamaru asked. _What am I doing?_

"I might." Inoichi looked at Shikamaru. By the way his dad had talked about him, he thought of Shikamaru as a lazy, unenthusiastic, boy. This was very unlike him.

"How much?" Shikamaru reached for his wallet.

"Why do you want that rose boy?" He could sell the rose, after all this time, it had not changed one bit. He kept that secret to himself.

"It's personal." Taking his wallet out, Shikamaru counted the money in his it. _$500, I hope its enough.(AN: have no idea about Japanese money, so I'm putting $ in it.)_

"I'll make you a deal boy." The older man stood up. "It's the only one I have."

"How much?" Shikamaru asked again.

"How much do you have on you?" Inoichi asked.

"$500" Shikamaru answered.

"I'll sell it for $400."

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Shikamaru walked in the house. It was quite. Not surprising since it was late at night. Inoichi had took most of his money, and had worked him until every bone in his body hurt. But he had managed to get some information while doing those stupid chores. _The desert rose will never wither._ Now there was only one thing left. To give it to Temari and hope that she forgives him. _She better_, he thought bitterly,_ I've worked harder than ever for this stupid flower._

He hesitated when he reached the door to her. How would she react to the flower? He stood there for a good 30 minutes, until he decided to give her the flower later. As he turned to leave, he heard a small scream from inside. Stuffing the rose inside a closet, he quickly opened the door and went inside. Temari was mumbling in her sleep. _She's having a nightmare._ He walked to her bed and stroked her hair.

_Desire._

The word came back to him as he looked down at the sleeping girl. He forced the thought to the far corner of his mind and sat on the bed next to her. His palm on her forehead seemed to calm her down. Suddenly, not realizing what he was doing, he leaned forward and lay down next to her.

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Temari turned, realizing there was someone next to her. But as the boy checked her face worridely, revealed nothing but relief. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep, stuffing her head in his chest. For the rest of the night, the nightmares left her alone.

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**AN: I love this chapter, it's my second favorite one. I kno the idea of a desert rose and Temari isn't original but which fanfiction has an acutall rose in it ha? Now when is Shikamaru gonna give her the rose? Muwahahaha only i kno. But if you want to figure out, you should review oh and comment on my form of writing too if u can, I want to find a way to improve it and i would love to hear wat other ppl think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **

**Roses are red, **

**violets are blue, **

**I don't own Naruto, **

**so please don't sue.**

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_**AN: **_**To answer some things first of all :**

**Lemons?** NO!

**Lime?** Maybe, idk yet.

**Will I ever talk about that desert rose that Shikamaru worked his ass off to buy? **Muwhahahaha poor Shika-kun but yea i will, just not yet :)

**And I've brought Naruto to help me thank the ppl that reviewed.**

**Naruto: **Rose thanks all of the ppl that are nice enough to read and review dis sucky story.

**Rose: wut the hell? **

**Naruto**: I see no action, no hitting, just lovey dovy stuff...I hate love, I like hitting, NARUTO LIKY HITTING.

**Rose: Should have brought Sakura...**

**Naruto: **

**Rose:Oh well who needs you? I can thank ppl myself.**

**Thank you EVERYONE!**

_P.S.: Nelly, next time u review please LOG OUT of MY account and enter UR OWN!!!!!_

_Lily reviewing is not a competition, just because I put a big review in your story doesn't mean you have to put an even BIGGER review on mine, but I enjoyed it anyway._

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Ch. 5

Temari woke up feeling a bit different that day. For a moment there, it felt like there was someone else in the bed.

_Alright, stay calm, you're just being paranoid._ She tried to move but found that she could not. She started shaking her head, trying to feel around, she figured that her head was stuck between something.

"Oi, oi, stop I'll move." The weight holding her down was suddenly gone and she opened her eyes. She saw that she had not been removed from the place she had last seen herself in. But there was something else.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She was sleepy, at that moment, she did not recall how angry she had been with him.

He yawned. _Figures, lazy ass probably came here to stop me from screaming._ She had always screamed in her sleep. Well maybe not always, it had started when her mother had suddenly disappeared. She had been only three, and with her mom gone, she had no one to tell soothe her, to tell her not to be afraid of the dark or that when her brother cried at night, it didn't mean that he hated her...

And so she had always had nightmares. It was normal for the ones that lived with her. They had long ago given up on trying to find an antidote. But now that she lived here...

"Well?" not that it was bad having him in her room...it was just that note...

"You were screaming...I came to...you know...help..." He was actually starting to look embarrassed. "and then you gripped me...and...uh...I couldn't...just leave you..." he avoided her eyes. She made a decision then, yea he had entered her room without permission, yea she knew the only reason he looked at her was because he was filled with desire-she hated that-but so was she. She did not care any more. At that moment, the demanding-and somewhat annoying- Temari took over her. She barely noticed as she jumped on the unsuspecting boy and kissed him until he nearly died of suffocation.

He broke away panting. "Ok," he said trying to catch his breath. "I'm going to need an explanation for that"

Despite her beating heart, she smiled. "I bet you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru looked annoyed, a rare scene, and Temari's smile opened way to a laugh.

"I think I'll leave you in the dark for a while." She made sure to get up slowly. She noticed how his eyes grew large at some points, the only sign that he was watching her and not dosing off. In ten minutes, she was out of the house.

Shikamaru was dumbfounded.

_Well look on the bright side,_ his inner self told him, _at least she isn't mad anymore._

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"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes?"

"Ugh I'm gonna kill you!"

"Alright that's it, stop now," Sakura stood up to see what they were arguing about now. "Honestly, can't a person eat without you two arguing?" She looked at her two teammates, then at the 'adult' sitting there. "Kakashi-sensei you're supposed to stop them from fighting."

Kakashi didn't even bother to look up from his book. _How many times can a you read one book?_ Sakura thought annoyed. She decided that Kakashi was a lost case and focused again on the ones that weren't lost, just yet. "What happened now?"

Naruto had stuffed his face with a cupcake, Sasuke looked like he would like to kill someone at that very moment. But before any of them could answer, the door opened and a familiar figure stepped inside.

"Temari-san," Sakura chuckled. "You came in the nick of time."

Temari smiled, Sakura took that as a good sign and went on. "My two..." however she was cut off by Kakashi.

"Temari is it? Are you the Kazekage's sister?" Kakashi looked interested in something other than his book, this caught Sakura's attention. Looking from Temari to Kakashi, she knew that there was something Kakashi knew that Temari would like to know.

But Kakashi was a genius of his own. He caught Sakura's vibe and decided to talk about something else instead. "Do you like to read, because I have a big library full of books that you can read." He tried his smile, then remembered that the girl couldn't see it, so he stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei stop trying to force your porn books on other people." Naruto yelled from across the room, receiving an annoyed look from Kakashi.

Sakura turned her attention back to the boys. "Now then," she said walking towards them, "What's this about?"

"Hearts!" Naruto answered. "I'm saying that Sasuke doesn't have a heart, while Sasuke says he does." he offered Sakura a smile. Sakura sighed, knowing that the two were doing this on purpose just to annoy whoever happened to be nearby.

"Of course he has a heart, if he didn't, he'd be dead by now." It was meant as a joke, but no one laughed. Sakura sighed, again, why couldn't her teammates have a sense of humor?

"Does Sasuke love anyone?" Temari asked, completely ignoring Sakura's joke.

"I don't know," Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Do you love someone?"

Sasuke blushed (_AN: Sasu-gay is way out of character, but me likes it XD)_ and looked out the window. Naruto, not noticing that continued on. "Well of course I know that you love _me_, I mean who doesn't love me? but we all know that you aren't gay, at least I hope not..."

"Naruto, your rambling again." Sakura said interrupting. Not that Naruto noticed. He went on:

"...I mean that would be really embarrassing, right?"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, a second later, Naruto lay on the ground a bump on his head. They had a few seconds of peace until Naruto regained consciousness and stood up.

"Speaking of embarrassing Temari-san, Ino told us what happened." Naruto said rubbing the bump on his head, it really hurt.

Temari, who had been dosing off-A habit she picked off of Shikamaru- suddenly snapped to attention. How did Ino know?

_Shikamaru!_

_I'm gonna kill him._

"Really?" Temari asked. Damn Ino and her big mouth.

"Yea, we tried to help Shikamaru deal with it but he ran off looking for some flower that doesn't even exist!"

_A flower? _

"By the way Temari-san, I think Tsunade-sama wants to see you, something about your mission changing." Sakura said barely remembering her conversation with her teacher earlier that day. "But if you want my advise, don't go there until she calls for you."

_good,_ Temari thought,_ I didn't even know what the first mission was about._

"And this one will start in two days" Sakura said remembering to add the ending.

"Ok..." Temari felt happy, yet sad, she'd have to leave him sooner than she thought. _And it's barely getting fun._

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It turned out that Tsunade had decided to send older ninja on the original mission and now she had a mission with Lee, Tenten, and Neji, Shikamaru was to be there too but not his team. The thought of being stuck on a three day trip with Lee and his way of talking made her shiver but she comforted herself in saying that Shikamaru was going to be there and everything would be fine.

Or at least, it better be.

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The two days past uneventfully. When they left for their mission, Shikamaru decided to ignore her. She had made his life miserable this last week with all the confusion and he would rather hear Lee talk about springtime of youth-or something like that- than be the subject of her attention. Yet, he couldn't help glancing at her as she talked to Tenten. The two girls were discussing something that was making Tenten blush, this aroused Shikamaru's curiosity(_AN: Shikamaru has curiosity? Someone answer tat!)_ He fell back to listen.

"Lee said that?" Temari was doing her best not to laugh, it was evident in her voice.

"Yea, you know Lee, he can't keep his mouth shut, so the next time me and him were alone, he told me all about it." Tenten blurted the information out excitedly. "I asked Hinata if it were true and she said yes, it was, and apparently, Neji is going emo!"

Temari laughed at loud at that, making both Neji and Lee turn and glare at her. But they stopped as they noticed the scowl Shikamaru wore and turned back to their conversation-an interesting one too, Lee was trying to convince Neji to give up his robe and wear green spandex.

"So what are you gonna do?" Shikamaru heard Temari voice and turned back to his eavesdropping. "You know, Neji is a pervert, Naruto informed me of that."

"What? How?" Tenten was shocked, _Neji? Pervert?_

"I don't know, I think he was lying." Temari had a hard time imagining the serious Hyuga peeping in the girl's bathroom.

"Yea maybe. You know what, I'm gonna go stop Lee before he fully convinces Neji to wear that ridiculous outfit. Wish me luck." with a wave of her hand, Tenten hoped to catch up with her teammates, leaving Temari all alone. Shikamaru decided he would take a chance and go ask her if she liked roses when, to his regret, he heard his name.

"Shikamaru-kun, what do you think?" Lee yelled over his head. "spandex or the Hyuga robe?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Lately he had been getting annoyed pretty fast. "I say the robe, definitely."

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Temari was tired. When they had made camp, Tenten had mysteriously disappeared leaving Temari lonely and without anyone to talk to except eyebrow freak. She looked at the fire, trying to block out Lee's nonsense about the green beast of Konoha and spandex. After a while she gave up and decided to try her chances with Shikamaru. He hadn't talked to her, but she was sure he wasn't mad, was he?

She found him looking at the sky.

"Still looking at the clouds even when it's dark?" she asked sitting down next to him.

"No, clouds gone...looking at stars now..." he yawned.

"Stars ha? I always liked them."

They continued to sit in silence until they heard a rustling in the bushes. Alerted, Temari got up and pulled Shikamaru with her. A moment later they emerged in a clearing. There was no one there except...

"Ewww!" the words left her mouth as the two people laying on the ground looked up.

"Get a room." Temari's facial expression had changed from grossed out to amused. "or at least if you're gonna do that, take a blanket with you." She started laughing.

Tenten's face went red as Neji started to dress himself. Temari laughed harder as Neji, slightly embarrassed now handed Tenten her clothes. Temari would have liked to stay and watch but something told her that no one else was comfortable in that position. A look at Shikamaru confirmed this. She stifled another laugh and yanked the dumbfounded Shikamaru away.

They were only a mile away when they heard someone scream.

"Hey Shikamaru" Temari nudged at his arm.

"What now?" Shikamaru asked having recovered his ability to speak.

"They're at it again." She said with a mischievous grin.

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**AN: Yes I kno very short chapter but what can I do, CAT's starting and I'm failing stupid math and I can't put the story in my mind into words. This is a promise I have made. The NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER. **

**Hahaha I put some Neji and Tenten there. It bought me some time for the 6th chapie and also their relationship is cool. Tell me wut u think and R&R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:**

_**Roses are red**_

_**violets are blue**_

_**I don't own Naruto**_

_**so please don't sue**_

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**AN: Yep yep, wut am i gonna do with dis chapter?**

**Harry**:_ you could have lime!_

**Rose: HARRY!!!! go away _sniffle_ u disappointed me!!!**

**Harry:**_ I'm here for my broomstick. And how the hell did _I_ disappoint _U

**Rose: You got ugly now go away before I call wolverine on you.**

**Harry:**_ who the hell is wolverine?_

**Rose: I suggest u leave before u find out.**

**-kicks harry out-**

**Rose: Alright thanks for all the support I luv u all-ok maybe not love...but i appreciate it :P well here is the next chappie.**

_For those of u who don't know harry and wolverine, i suggest u look up X-men and Harry Potter but thats stupid of me, every1 knows these ppl, they b awesome!!!!!_

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Temari was giggling all the way back to the clearing. Shikamaru stayed quite, he couldn't talk, or even look at her. He was scared he might try to do the same thing as Neji.

_Shit, when did I fall for Temari?_ He thought as he watched her walk towards the fire, sit down and smile at him. He felt his cheeks redden and was thankful when Lee appeared at that moment.

"Have you guys seen Neji and Tenten?" he asked confused. "I can't find then anywhere."

Shikamaru heard Temari's laughter, and saw Lee's confused look. He decided to ignore them. As he climbed a tree and sat down, there was one thought in his mind. He was sure there was a stupid grin on his face as he watched the stars.

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He couldn't focus his mind. His thoughts went back to the scene he had seen in the forest. A blush covered his face as he imagined Temari there, lying beneath him. He tried to force the thought out of his head._ I'm only seventeen_. He told himself. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, images of Temari crept in his head. Suddenly, his vision blurred and he tripped. A strong hand grabbed his as he was falling.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Temari's worried voice reached his ear. His skin tingled where she was holding his hand. He tensed beneath her touch. _Why does she have to sound worried?_ He groaned as she released his hand.

"Yes I'm fine." he huffed as he yanked his hand away.

"Are you sure?" Not satisfied with his answer, she eyed him suspiciously. He caught her eyes as they drew cold. "Fine then genius, get your head out of the clouds and pay attention." Her tone was now harsh. "Next time, I'll let you fall."

As she leaped on another tree to talk to Lee-about running with your hands- a thought crossed his mind. _**You love **__her___ Something, or someone, inside him asked. Love? Certainly not. He wanted nothing to do with love. Love was troublesome. _**Troublesome like Temari yet you love her!**_ It teased.

"I don't love her." He yelled at loud. Though he didn't realize what he had done until four pairs of confused-and amused- eyes turned to look at him.

_Great! Just great! Now what?_ He thought bitterly as Lee opened his mouth to talk. Temari was faster though she quickly skipped back and gestured for Shikamaru to do the same. Grateful that he didn't have to answer Lee, Shikamaru obeyed.

When she smirked though, he wished he had taken his chances with Lee. "So you love someone." She said in an amused tone.

"No I don't, love is troublesome," he said in his bored tone, trying to sound innocent.

"Huh, if I asked you, everything in life would be troublesome, now who is it?" She said sticking her tongue out at Lee, who happened to be looking her way.

"No one," he answered annoyed.

She wasn't convinced, but before she could continue, a crashing sound followed by a scream came from ahead. _Troublesome I forgot we are entering the Earth country!_

"All right don't panic." He said as Tenten let out a scream and Temari's hand reached for her fan. "We're just nearing the Earth country, it's filled with bandits. No real threats if we are careful and quite." His eyes found Lee, then Temari.

Lee didn't notice the stare but Temari's eyes grew cold.

"Was that last sentence meant for me?" she growled.

_**Nice going genius, you got her mad!**_ Shikamaru scowled. When they returned he would have a nice chat with this inner voice, but for now, he needed to save the situation.

"It was not meant for you Temari it was just a warning," He took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I forgot to mention our route, it's fast but it could also be dangerous, if you don't know what to expect." he handed the paper to Lee. "That's a map." he said as the map was passed around the four and Neji handed it back to him.

"I see" Neji said with an annoyed voice. "Tsunade-sama made you the leader."

_**Great, two out of four, lets aim for Tenten's anger next.**_

"Neji I'm not the leader, just the strategist." He saw Neji's face soften and relaxed. Shikamaru turned to the others. "I have a simple one this time. Neji you take the front, Tenten you be behind him. Lee stay in the middle, I'll be after you, Temari you take the rear, I heard tat you're good in hiding the trail."

Temari scowled, fiery thoughts going through her head. Surprised, Shikamaru realized he could read her thoughts from her eyes. _Heard? More like witnessed, last time I save your ass genius._ Unable to hold her gaze he looked away. "After we pass this valley," he put the map on the ground and pointed to a small part, "you can break the line."

He tried his best to avoid Temari's eyes as they progressed. He hoped the rose was where he had left it, because his lazy mind could not think of another way to apologize. He sighed, _Yesterday she kissed me, now she acts like she hates me! What did I get myself into falling for a girl like that?_

Within an hour, the forest cleared. The rocky climate did not look inviting but they had no choice, they entered. As they passed through the valley, Shikamaru glimpsed the excited look on Lee's face. Lee was itching for a fight. But Shikamaru desperately hoped it wouldn't come to that.

As the rocks cleared, Shikamaru let out a sigh. No fights, No one hurt. Yet.

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The message they were assigned to take back was not important. Just a thanks to Konoha for their helps against the mountain raiders. Shikamaru looked ahead, the valley was getting closer. He called everyone and they quickly assembled into their position. A single line. They entered the valley quietly, Neji's 360 degree eyes surveying their surroundings. Suddenly, he stopped, whirled around and pushed Tenten. Tenten fell backwards into Lee's arms as a kunai whooped through the air where she had been standing a minute ago.

"Bandits" Neji mouthed.

"How many?" Shikamaru felt fear clutch his hear. With a sudden start, he realized that the fear wasn't for himself but for Temari.

_Great, now I'm worried about her!_

"Fifteen" Neji answered.

As if on cue, the bandits poured from the side of the mountain. _They're not ninja._ Shikamaru thought with a sigh of relief. "Alright focus, this shouldn't be very hard."

And it wasn't, except the fact that at some point, he got himself injured trying to keep a kunai away from Temari.

He listened to her yell all the way back to Konoha.

And the hospital.

Finally when they reached his house, he couldn't take it anymore.

"It's simple," Temari was explaining. "Next time you see a kunai flying at me, you yell: '''Temari get out of the way''' or you use your shadow possession jutsu to try to get me out of the way...you don't go getting yourself injured."

"Look I yelled, you didn't turn," It was his turn to yell "I tried to use my shadow but I was so damn tired. It seemed the best strategy."

_**You love her!!!**_ he really needed to go see a doctor, this voice inside his head was driving him crazy.

"Best strategy? Your best strategy is to throw yourself in front of a kunai?!" she yelled back.

"Why do you care, you weren't the one that got hurt." He was getting tired. The wound on his thigh was completely healed, thanks to Ino, but it still itched.

However, he didn't fail to see the her eyes widen with alarm, embarrassment, and finally frustration. "I don't." she said coolly.

"Oh?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "Then why all the yelling?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "None of your business."

"I think it is, since I have been your target all day." he sighed. Trying to change his tone to that of a tired adult trying to convince a three year old that hitting his playmate is wrong.

"You deserved it!"

"How?" he asked it calmly but inside he was roaring.

"For making me worried." She blushed and looked away.

It was really driving him crazy. Sometimes she was fierce,independent, and brave. But at times-much like this one- she turned into a completely different person.

"All right that's it." He wanted to get out of this confusion. "I want answers, now!"

"Answers?" She asked confused.

"A month ago you asked me if I had a girlfriend, I say no, you kiss me and run away before I can say something." He looked right at her, she looked away. "Then when you come back you act like a shy girly girl. When I go with the rest of the perverts to see what Ino's sleepover was about, I see _you_ defending me. Then there was that accident, with the...um...you know...in which you yell at me like your old self, but the next time you find me in your bed you kiss me, again, then just walk away. During the mission you talked to me, but then we walked in on Tenten and Neji's...after that you act like you hate me and now, again, your acting _shy?_ Do you know what that's doing to my poor brain?" he stopped to breath. _ I think that was everything._

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_What? He couldn't seriously be asking me?_

Trying to clear her head, she looked at him for a minute then laughed. "And they call you smart, haven't you figured it out by now."

He cleared his throat before answering. "If I had, I wouldn't be asking you."

"It should be clear." She said avoiding his eyes.

"Not to me." He answered stubbornly.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind was racing. To tell him or not to tell him. If she told him, there would be the chance of her heart breaking. _Do I even like him that much, to actually have my heart broken? _Reviewing the past now, she knew it was true. She did care for him. Maybe not love, not yet, but she did care enough for her stupid heart to break. _When did I become so weak?_ She asked herself.

"You don't care." She said equally as stubborn.

"Yes I do," he persisted.

"No you don't, you're like all boys, now you're after something, when you have it, you'll leave without a giving it a second thought." Yes, all boys where like that, she had seen how many times her brother had broken a girl's heart.

"Please speak in human language." It was a poor attempt at a joke. She certainly didn't laugh.

"Don't act stupid." she said dangerously. "You know what I'm talking about."

he sighed. Not answering. She looked at his expression and went on. Even though now, she was having a hard time explaining.

"I know what you want from me, just like Tenten and Neji." _Stop blushing,_ she ordered her cheeks but they wouldn't listen. "You don't care for me, just what I have to offer." She managed to busy herself by pinching her legs. "You'll probably end up embarrassing me, and breaking my heart in the end."

His eyes opened with shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. _ME break HER heart? _He decided to tell her to listen to logic.

"I want nothing from you." he said calmly. A lie. Partly...

"You're lying." She sniffed.

He sighed trying to calm himself down. "Yes that's a lie, but do you honestly think _I _would embarrass you?"

She didn't answer trying to see exactly how hard she could pinch herself.

"Or break your heart, why would I do that?" He reached out his and and gently touched her cheeks.

His hand moved under her chin and lifted her face. Slowly, he leaned over and kissed her, running his tongue along her lower lip. She slowly opened her mouth, she would allow him to kiss her, it was what she wanted.

He took his time kissing her. His hands moving to settle on her hips. She didn't object as he tore at her clothing. When he had kissed her, she had simply shut her brain.

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She woke up dazed. All of the events of the previous day flowing in her head. She suddenly felt exposed spotting Shikamaru next to her. A rush of embarrassment went through her as she saw a red stain on the mattress.

"_You were a virgin? No wonder you were so shy..."_

Stupid bastard talked like he hadn't been one either. But no matter now, he had what he wanted, time to leave.

Something grabbed her arm as she stood up. Looking back she saw Shikamaru, his hair falling loosely on either side of his face.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked lazily.

She scowled. "I want to leave before something like that happens again."

"Why?" he asked opening his eyes. "I enjoyed it."

She huffed at that and continued to search for her clothes.

"What's wrong?" he asked looking serious. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she sighed. "It's just..." she finished dressing and went to the door. "I have to go see Tsunade-sama."

"You'll be back?" He asked concerned.

"I'll try..." she said leaving the room.

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He watched her leave, hoping that she'd come back. As he heard the front door open and close he lay back and closed his eyes.

_Temari,_

Their relationship had been so confusing, moving so fast to no particular destination. He had hoped that the discussion last night would clear things up. But then he hadn't been able to control himself. He didn't know he was capable of doing something so...intense...at such a young age. It had cleared one thing though, he definitely wanted to do it again. _If_ Temari would ever come back.

_**Nice going genius, you scared her away.**_

"Ugh I'm going crazy, first I hear voices in my head, now I'm talking to myself." he clutched his head, trying hard to make it sane again.

_It's my subconscious, just trying to steer me in the right way._ He told himself calmly, the voice was gone.

He got up, getting dressed, at least this was his own room. A shower would be nice, but he put it off for later. First, he had to find that damned rose.

He found it in the closet. No surprise there, now to give it to Temari...

He quickly formed a plan in his head and left the house.

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Temari was not in a good mood. The Hokage had paid her and told her that she could stay for a couple of more days. That was great but she didn't plan on staying. She felt so weak. _Look at you, what would Gaara and Kankuro say if they saw you like this?_ She laughed bitterly at that thought. She couldn't stay here. She wouldn't allow herself to be weak, just for one guy.

With that thought, she headed for the gates.

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Temari walked so deep in thought, she didn't realize she was being watched.

Not far away, Shikamaru stayed hidden in a tree, watching the sand ninja leave and trying to make a final decision.

_Is she really worth it?_

His hands touched the rose next to him and he smiled. She was!

So, he too, took off towards Suna, but with a different intention in mind.

_Sheesh, how troublesome, if only she knew how much I'm willing to do for her..._

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Temari's return trip was uneventful. After she returned to Suna, she went to the Kazekage's office, gave him a report of her mission and turned to leave when he spoke up.

"How's Shadow boy?" he asked with an evil grin.

Ignoring him, Temari slammed the door shut, as she left the office.

Her room wasn't far away, but for her, it seemed like an eternity to get there. When she opened the door, however, she froze...

"Oh my gosh..."

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**AN: I have been seeing so many cliffhangers lately, so I decided to add one of my own. Don't u love them?_-being sarcastic-_****Anyways, there is going to be one or two more chapters. Probably one chapter and one epilogue. If you object to dis please tell me by reviewing. I get so happy wen i c that ppl like my story. **

**By the way i like having conversations with fictional characters at the beginning of my story, if tats annoying , just tell me.**

**Hahaha hoped u liked it. R&R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, whats his face does.**

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**AN: here we go, new chapter. So excited for it...and i have a new guest, it is...**

**Bum**

**..Bum**

**...Bum**

_**Shikamaru!!!**_

**Rose: we all ****愛 ****you Shikamaru now, what made you do all the stuff you did in the last and this chapter?**

**Shikamaru: YOU!!!**

**Rose: great ahem moving on, thank u every1 for the reviews. My last chapter got the most reviews and I'm so happy, thank u all.**

**By the way I'm not gonna start from the cliffhanger but I'm gonna get to it.**

**He he sorry, couldn't resist write love in Japanese, its such an awesome language. **

**Current song: _buy u a drank_**

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_previous Chapter:_

_Her room wasn't far away, but for her, it seemed like an eternity to get there. When she opened the door, however, she froze..._

"_Oh my gosh..."_

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Shikamaru wondered for the thousandth time why he was going through all this trouble for one girl. Most girls would've been way easier to win. But he had to fall for the hardest one. Not that he was complaining, he had liked her for so long, he just never realized it. Now, looking around the desert, desperately trying to find flowers- desert flowers because she was of the desert- he actually considered himself lucky for finding a girl like her. He liked challenges, even if he never showed it. And she was the hardest challenge in his life. When he solved her, he didn't dare think about it. He just thought of the great feeling that always came with winning a game of _Shogi_ against his dad. That was always a challenge, and when he won, he rejoiced. Now this feeling would be ten times better, he was sure.

Looking around, shielding his eyes from the sand, he found something interesting to his north. When he got nearer, he saw that the sand in these parts had cleared and instead, it was dirt. He was happy to find desert lilies, both orange and red, they were beautiful. He thought about taking them all, but stopped and took only a dozen.

A few hours later, he was happy with the flowers he had found. It was hard to find all of them, he had to climb some cliffs and go inside some creepy looking caves. Who knew the desert had so many flowers hidden inside it? Now he needed to head towards Suna. He searched his pockets for his passport and relaxed when he found it. Now when the watchers saw him, they'd know that he was there for a vacation. He was lucky to have run into Tsunade on his way to the gates, Tsunade had so kindly given him a vacation. Now that he thought about it, he remembered her wicked smile. But no worries, he was legal and that's what mattered.

He didn't think, however, how the Kazekage would act if he saw him with about 15 different kind of flowers asking where Temari's room was, until he reached Suna. The guards checked his passport and let him in. He tried to relax. He had survived an immortal Akatsuki, the Sand's Kazekage couldn't be that bad. So with dread, he walked towards the building in the middle of Sunagakure (_I hope I spelled it right )_.

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Gaara was bored. For a seventeen year old boy, he had a lot of responsibilities. Not that he complained, he loved being the Kazekage, but lately, the meetings had been boring. He considered using his sand to make whiskers for the old man sitting next to him, but thought better of it and instead yawned.

No one noticed. _Oh joy,_ This time, he used his sand to make cat ears for the old man sitting next to him. Kankuro and Baki were the only ones that noticed. Kankuro started giggling while Baki scowled.

"Kazekage-sama, is there something you want to say?" Baki said in a disapproving voice.

"Baki, this meeting is meant to bore me out of my mind." Gaara answered honestly. "I have some paperwork to attend to, and I also have to send a message to Konoha and ask where the hell my sister is, she is supposed to be back."

At that Kankuro laughed. "I can tell you where she is" he said clutching his stomach.

"Kankuro," one of the elders said. "this is a meeting, control yourself."

Ignoring his older brother, Gaara continued talking. "I ask to be excused so that I can attend more _important_ matters."

"Gaara, you can go." Baki said before anyone could object. "But please, take Kankuro with you." he motioned to the now sober puppeteer, "I think he'd be better off with you."

Gaara stood up and motioned for Kankuro to follow. As soon as they were outside, Kankuro started laughing again.

"Kankuro stop it or I will kill you." Gaara tried.

At that, Kankuro started to laugh harder.

"Why are you laughing anyways?" He was getting annoyed. His older brother looked like he was drunk.

Kankuro stopped laughing for a second to point towards something. Gaara followed his finger and found the Nara boy standing next to his doorway

_with flowers?_

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Really, the Sand jounin was annoying him. He wouldn't stop laughing until Gaara had found some tape and put it on his mouth, but he still made weird noises that irritated Shikamaru.

Gaara, had been ok himself. Listening to Shikamaru's story, nodding at some points, looking bored at others. But he had been fair, and was now leading him to Temari's room. At the door, Gaara stopped.

"I wish you luck." he then took the snickering Kankuro and left.

Alone, Shikamaru carefully opened the door. The room was an exact a little different that what he thought Temari's personality was. There were weapons on the floor, but that was it for the weapons. On the dresser, he found three perfumes, each of them a different product. He smelled all of them and decided that Temari wore a mix of all of them. Her closet consisted of a few black kimono's, two white ones, five with lilies on them, one with a red rose on the top, a few pants, and a few shirts. Honestly, Shikamaru never thought Temari had this many clothes. But that wasn't why he was here. He looked towards her bed.

He groaned. _Great, I don't make my bed, now I have to make hers._

After the bed looked decent, he took the pile of flowers and carefully laid them out, by color, so that it looked a meadow with the green cloth he had put under them -he had found it while looking through Temari's closet.

Now one more thing. He searched the room for a pen and an paper. It wasn't long before he found them. He considered what he would write for a minute. He couldn't put too much information or else his plan wouldn't work.

Finally, he decided on a few words, and, carefully laying the note in the middle of the flowers, so that she could spot it quickly.

At the door, he paused and looked back. She better appreciate this. He had never worked so hard in his life.

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On his way back, he went to see Gaara.

The Kazekage smiled as he saw Shikamaru, "I will make sure that she visits Konoha as soon as possible." he said mischievously.

"Thank you," Shikamaru bowed and turned to leave. When he left the room, he came face to face with Kankuro.

"I swear if you hurt her-" Kankuro started but was cut off by Shikamaru.

"She will make sure I die." he said seriously. "And I don't plan to hurt her." he bravely pushed the puppeteer out of the way and started to walk down the hall, leaving a very surprised Kankuro behind.

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Temari froze, she couldn't believe her eyes. Who would do all of this,

these flowers, they were all from the desert. It took great time to find all of them. She didn't even think she knew all of them, there were the desert Lilies and the desert Dandelions oh and there was the Cliff rose, and the cave prime rose. They were beautiful. Temari was surprised, and amazed.

_These flowers, who would go through so much to bring them here to me?_

Her heart missed a beat.

_Maybe they aren't for me, maybe it's just a mistake._

But how could she be sure? That was when she noticed it, the note sitting in the middle of the flowers. It seemed so out of place there, like it was trying to catch someone's attention. Trying to think logically, Temari bent to pick it up, careful not to crush a beautiful Sand Verbena as she did so.

Her hands trembled as she picked it up. Silently, she cursed the Nara for making her so soft.

_Nara,_ The word rang in her head. _What if this is from him?_

She laughed at loud and forced the thought out of her head. No need to get false hope. That bastard was too lazy to do anything like this. And for her none the less.

But she couldn't stop hoping, that maybe, just maybe, it was from him. That maybe, he care about her enough to do something like this.

Her hands now trembled harder and she dropped the note. As she bent to pick it up, she noticed two Ghost Flowers and wondered just how many kind of flowers were here, Ghost flowers weren't common in this part of the desert, the person had gone through more trouble than she had guessed, and now, more than ever, she wished that it was Shikamaru.

After what seemed like an eternity, she forced her eyes on the paper. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought that it would rip through her flesh and make it's escape any time now.

_Damn it get yourself together._

She closed her eyes and willed her heart to stop racing. She commanded her hands to stop trembling. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked at the paper. It read:

_Temari, _

_Unlike these flowers, you are_

_one of a kind. _

_Come to me before it's too late._

At the end there was a peace sign.

Temari read and reread the note. It was meant for her. But who had wrote it. She had seen this handwriting somewhere before. But it was a long time ago. She looked at the letter for any clues. But couldn't find one. Finally, she looked at the peace sign. She had seen that too, somewhere, but where? A thought struck her.

_The chunnin exams. _

_The first time she'd taken that exam,_

_the final rounds, _

_the jacket with the kunai that had been used as a parachute. _

_The shadow that had caught her._

_And the shadow that had caught her heart afterwards._

_Could it be, that he had searched the desert to bring flowers to her?_

_Him, that lazy boy she had met and underestimated. _

_She understood now that once again, she had underestimated him._

_She regretted it now. _

_Now that he was no longer here. _

_But it wasn't too late, not yet._

_If she went back now, she could still apologize._

_Dropping the note, she ran out of her room._

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She found Gaara in his office. She was about to ask him to send her to Konoha again when he spoke.

"Temari, I am very sorry, I know that you have barely gotten back from Konoha but I need to send you there again."

Temari tried to hide her surprise at this. "Why?" she asked.

"It is just a message. But I wish to send you." He said matter of factly. "I know you hate easy missions but-"

"It's ok Gaara, when do you want me to leave?" She said, cutting his sentence short.

"As soon as possible."

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She was tired, but that didn't stop her from running all the way to Konoha. It had not been a week since she left and she was back here again. But this time things were different. Gaara knew that she would be tired after traveling nonstop for more than six days, so he had asked the Hokage-in the letter- if she could stay there. Temari was positive that the Hokage would not object.

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Tsunade had gave her a key. After reading the message Gaara had sent, she had told Temari that her last host was out on a mission and had given her a key.

"_It's the key to his house." Tsunade said cheerfully. "You are welcome to stay there."_

Temari was thankful to the Hokage, she didn't want to spend her time looking for a hotel. As she made her way towards Shikamaru's house, she saw Sakura talking to Ino. She decided it would not hurt to talk to the two. They were her friends after all.

The two became quiet as they saw Temari.

"Hi Temari-san." Sakura said politely.

Temari snorted. "Alright, spill it, whatever it is."

Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance. Ino seemed eager to tell while Sakura had a nervous look.

"anytime now." Temari sang.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but promise not to tell anyone." Ino finally blurted. Of course, Ino couldn't keep a secret. "Ok, well, I was spying on Neji..."

"You were spying on Neji?!?" Temari yelled astonished.

"Sh...it was a dare." Ino hissed an glared at Sakura, who started snickering. "anyways, I heard him talk to Lee and...and..." Ino stopped she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Sakura sighed and finished the sentence for her. "Tenten's pregnant."

Temari's eyebrow's arched. "What!?!?!" She yelled. Tenten was, pregnant? No way! It was only last week that Tenten was telling her about Neji, and now...

Temari started laughing as she remembered the sight she had seen in the woods. Poor Tenten, Neji better not leave her.

"Neji was all confused, he didn't know what to do." Ino went on. "He _likes_ Tenten but that's all. He said he didn't know if his feelings were strong enough for marriage. I feel so bad for Tenten, what is she gonna do?" Ino's voice now changed to that of a wailing.

"Tenten got knocked up." Temari murmured not really listening to Ino. That could've happened to her, She realized shuddering.

"Ok moving on." Sakura said not comfortable with this subject. But she stopped as she spotted Sasuke alone, again. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled and ran towards the poor boy leaving Temari alone with Ino.

"Well, I gotta go." Temari said uneasily. "I'll see you later."

"Yea." Ino waved as Temari left.

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**AN: ok so I decided to make more than two chapters. But I'm still not sure. It depends on how many reviews I get. If it's like last time, then I'll write more chapters, but If i get reviews saying my story is boring. Well I'll end it. So tell me the truth!!!**

**and yea Tenten got knocked up, I'm gonna work on tat a bit if i continue my story, and the flowers, i found on the Internet and all of them grow in the deserts near California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. But they're definitely DESERT flowers. **

**OK! tell me wut u think every1 and peace!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**_

_Roses are red_

_violets are blue_

_I don't own Naruto_

_So please don't sue_

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AN:** ahem...thank u every1 for the reviews, it makes me so happy, and i finally reached 100 reviews...now I'm really happy and more than determined to please my readers. **

_Some notes:_

_**Gaara was out of character cause he's funny when he is OoC**_

_**The Title of my story is **Just Remember, I love you. _**Except I used this translation tool on my comp to write it in Japanese which came out wrong but i love Japanese writings so i never changed it.**

**And for the ppl, I wont stop my story I'm coming up with a new plot, so yea...it might take me a while to update but no more than a week.**

_Previous Chapter:_

**ok so in the last chapter, Tenten got knocked up-pregnant- and Temari heard it from Ino and Sakura and she's feeling weird cause she was there...and u know witnessed some stuff. Anyways before that, Temari found a bunch of desert flowers plus a mysterious note in her room, Gaara gave her a mission to go to Konoha and stay there for a while. Tsunade gave her a key to Shikamaru's house because Shikamaru's on a mission with Chouji and Neji and Naruto. Now Temari's gonna go to Shikamaru's house and stay there until he comes back.**

_**Current song: La Tortura**_

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**Ch. 8**

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Temari fell on the couch. She was in Shikamaru's house with nothing to do since he was away on a mission. She was happy though. He wasn't there, so if it wasn't him that sent her the flowers, then she wouldn't be embarrassed. Not yet anyways. She closed her eyes as her conversation with the two leaf ninja came back to her. Tenten was pregnant. Tenten, the girl that had been so careful about everything, so she wouldn't upset her poor grandparents in their old age. What would she do? Temari had been especially close to her of all the women in Konoha. Tenten had even said that her short time goal was to beat Temari in a fair fight. Temari smiled. They never had that fight.

Thinking about Tenten, Temari left the house. She'd find the poor girl and try to be of some comfort. That's what friends did. But on her her way, she was confronted by Hinata. The girl had changed a lot since the last time Temari had seen her. It showed in the way Hinata carried herself.

"Hi." Hinata said brightly. Not wanting to waste her time, Temari quickly asked where Tenten was and if she was ok.

"Temari-san, can I talk to you?" Hinata asked with confidence. Temari wondered what had happened to her that changed her so much in such a short time.

"Sure," she answered with uncertainty.

"come please." Hinata motioned for Temari to follow her. After a while, Temari figured they were near the Hyuga grounds. She wondered what had made Hinata take her there. When they were next to a large buildings however, Hinata's courage left her and she began trembling.

"Hinata are you ok?" Temari asked concerned.

"Temari-san, my father is angry at Neji for what he has done, but since Neji is not here, he is taking all of his anger out on poor Tenten." Hinata pointed at the building. "he summoned Tenten there and has not stopped yelling for hours now, I can't think of a way to stop him." She stopped to take a breath. "He says that Tenten should not come near our clan anymore." Hinata lowered her eyes. "I don't know what Neji will do when he comes back. I know for a fact that he cares for her. But he cannot go against my father's word."

"What do you want me to do?" Temari asked carefully. She didn't want to get involved. But on the other had, she was a caring person and couldn't let Tenten suffer.

"Get Tenten out of there, please." Hinata pleaded.

"sure."

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Temari took Tenten to Shikamaru's house. Despite her current state, Tenten was cheerful. She had not been crying- as Hinata had predicted-, but was standing firm when Temari had entered and made an excuse to take Tenten with her. Now the girl chattered happily. Teasing Temari and laughing.

"I see, did Shikamaru give you the keys himself." She giggled.

"No, Tsunade gave them to me." Temari sighed. "Tenten, how are you feeling?"

"Great." Tenten smiled.

"No I mean.." Temari started but Tenten stopped her.

"Don't worry Temari, I didn't want a kid, but now that I was blessed with one, I'll take care of it. My grandparents and aunt can take care of her when I'm away on missions. At first I was so sad, but now, I learned to live with it. Even if I'm to be a single mother." She smiled.

Temari considered that for a moment and smiled herself. "How do you know it'll be a girl?" she teased.

"I know ok? I'm even thinking up names as we speak." Tenten laughed.

"I never knew you to be so brave Tenten." Temari said and cursed at herself for being such a coward when nothing had happened. She dug in her pocket (_AN: yes her kimono has a pocket.)_ and took out a desert Lily and showed it to Tenten.

"What is it?" Tenten asked, she was not familiar with desert flowers.

"It's a desert Lily." Temari answered and handed Tenten the flower. "When I went home, there was a dozen of these with a lot of other different desert flowers on my bed."

Tenten gasped. "Who was it from?"

"I don't know." Temari said honestly.

"Ooh, I bet it's from your secret admirer." Tenten teased.

"I don't have one." Temari smiled at that, Tenten would probably know who she admired. But she wouldn't tell the girl just yet. "Do you have any guesses?"

"Yes," Tenten answered firmly. "Someone that would risk himself to save you." She smiled mischievously.

Temari groaned.

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"Neji, slow down will you?" Chouji yelled. "Some of us aren't as fast as you."

"Yea Neji, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed with Chouji. They had been running non-stop thanks to Neji. The only person not whining was Shikamaru, which was odd. He was always the first one to complain. But today he had other matters on his mind.

_I hope Temari's in Konoha,_ he didn't know what to do now. He had given her the note. That was to be his first move. But he was totally clueless as to what to do next. _(just like the authoress right now)_

"Neji" he heard Naruto whine. Maybe he should have a chat with the loud chunin.

"Naruto." Shikamaru whispered. Naruto suddenly grew quite and came closer to Shikamaru to hear what he was saying. Shikamaru went on. "Neji is upset. You are not that dumb, think about how you would feel if the girl you liked suddenly got pregnant." he stopped there as he saw the look of understanding on Naruto's face. "Leave him alone." he whispered and went to lecture Chouji on the same subject.

And so, Neji was left alone thanks to Shikamaru. Shikamaru sighed in relief. In reality, even he was worried about Tenten. But he wouldn't voice his concern for the girl. It was her fault after all.

_**What if it was Temari?**_

The stupid voice seemed to find it's way in his head whenever he was uncertain of something. But he knew what would happen if Temari had gotten pregnant instead of Tenten.

_I'd marry her in a second._

He would. He had given it much thought since the beginning of their mission. He would marry her if she was in Tenten's place. But he was very happy that wasn't the case. He was too young to marry. _Next time,_ he told himself, _control yourself before you do something you might later regret._

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Neji was roaring on the inside. His common sense told him that marrying Tenten was the best option. But his emotions said otherwise. What if Tenten did not wish to marry him? Was she really mad? Would she want to see him? Naruto was being really annoying telling him to slow down. But Neji ignored him. His only concern right now was the girl's future. His uncle would not be happy. Tenten's child, and his, would be a byakugan user, meaning that he would be a Hyuga.

And so, he finally made up his mind:

_I have to marry her, it's the only way._

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Temari growled as Tenten dragged her all the way to Ino's shop.

"why do I have to do this again?" She asked in agony.

"To make sure if this is Shikamaru's handwriting." Tenten answered

"Why did I tell you this?"

"Because I am your only true friend." Tenten smirked.

"No you're not."

"Oh? Then who? Puppet boy?" Tenten said.

"No," Temari snapped. "But why Ino?"

"Cause she's the big-mouth and will tell anyone she comes in contact with." Tenten smiled. From the mood she was in, you would never guess she was pregnant from a guy that belonged to the weirdest clan in Konoha. She did not wish for everyone to know her secret. But Tenten would not listen to her, and so, she was about to push the door open when she heard her name.

"Tenten-chan." Temari and Tenten turned to find Hinata, waving.

"Naruto-kun is back." She said smiling. "Look what he gave me." She held out her hand to show the two girls the necklace she was holding.

"Naruto gave you this?" Tenten asked taking the necklace from Hinata's hand. It had the word sun engraved on it. "Did he have it made for you?"

"You're dating Naruto?" Temari asked surprised.

"Well no." Hinata said blushing. "We've only gone out once...and it wasn't really a date..." She started telling them about what had happened that day.

"Oh, yea" Tenten laughed. "I remember, I was wondering why they'd let me beat the crap out of them." She suddenly stopped. "Hinata what advise did you give Neji?"

"I told him to follow his heart." She answered truthfully.

Temari and Tenten gasped. "And?" Temari urged.

"I told him that he should try his best to let you understand how he was feeling...I never knew...that it would lead to this...I guess its my fault." she lowered her head.

Temari looked at Tenten who nodded. "Hinata you were only trying to help." she said reassuringly.

Temari joined her " Yea it's not you're fault Neji's a pervert." _You shouldn't call someone else a pervert._ She told herself, _not after what you did._

"Tell you what Hinata," Tenten was saying "Just to cheer you up, I'll go ask Naruto on a date for you."

The self confidence Hinata had gained during the past week seemed to disappear as she considered this. "No...I don't think...that's ok..."She tried but Tenten grinned. "Don't worry Temari will go with you."

"No I won't, I don't want to be a third wheel." Temari protested.

"Oh you won't..." Tenten said laughing before she leaped on the nearby building and left. Leaving two very confused kunoichi_ (AN: I know I spelled that wrong)_ behind.

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"So any of you guys want ramen dattebayo?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Yea...wait no..I can't...Ino's making me go on a diet..." Chouji sounded depressed, but he knew that Ino would kill him if he ate anything more than those protein bars.

Naruto shrugged and turned around. "What about you Ne-" he looked about, "Neji? Where did he go?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, who was the only person left.

Shikamaru didn't say anything, he just pointed at a black spot on the other side of the street, the spot was moving towards them and even Naruto figured out why Neji had suddenly disappeared.

In a matter of seconds, Tenten was was with them panting.

"Naruto!" she said excitedly.

"What dattebayo!?"

"Would you like a second date with Hinata?" She smiled.

"What if she ditches me like last time." Naruto asked remembering how he'd cried in front of Lee.

"And to make sure you're not alone in case she ditches you again, you can take Shikamaru with you." Tenten stuck her tongue out at Shikamaru who was scowling.

"What a pain, I don't want to be a third wheel." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, even Tenten wouldn't be air headed enough to forget that, but maybe this pregnancy thing was getting to her...

"Oh don't worry, you won't." Tenten assured him.

Which of course made him panic. "I don't want a date!" he said backing away and waving his arms in front of him.

"What?" Naruto asked astonished. "Are you crazy?"

Shikamaru ignored him. "And I don't want to be there when Hinata ditches Naruto because first of all, I'm not good at comforting and second, I'm not gay. You could ask Lee, I'm sure he'd be happy to yap on and on to a depressed Naruto."

Tenten considered this for a moment. "What if I pay for the food?" she asked.

"I'm not Chouji" Shikamaru reminded her.

"Come on Shikamaru a mystery date!" Naruto said cheerfully, "It'll be exciting."

"I don't like exciting." Shikamaru reminded him.

"Yea because he's boring." Tenten added.

"Please, dattebayo?" begged Naruto.

"I'll see how I feel." Shikamaru said, finally giving up.

"Yay!" You could hear Naruto's voice on the other side of the Hidden Village of Konoha.

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Tenten returned half an hour later, wearing a big smile.

"He said yes Hinata!" she grinned.

Hinata blushed, Temari wondered how one boy could change a girl so much. _I shouldn't really blame her,_ she thought, _look how I've turned out after less than one week with a boy._

"You too Temari, I want you to go with her." Tenten continued.

"I can't go," Temari sighed. "Seriously Tenten, why would I want to be in the same place as Naruto on purpose." she gave Hinata a look of apology hoping the girl understood that Temari couldn't go on a date, with anyone. _(you kno, except Shika P)_

"Nonsense, you'll love this double-date trust me." Tenten said, not convinced.

"I can't." Temari repeated.

"Why not?" Tenten Snapped.

"Because..."

"Come on, wouldn't you go if it was..." Tenten looked at Hinata. "You-Know-Who."

Temari blushed. "Well it's not him." she was glad the Hyuga girl was shy and didn't ask any questions.

"How do you know?" Tenten said with a raised eyebrow.

"I just have this feeling ok?" She snapped.

"Well, you'll never be sure if you don't go." Hinata said. She looked away as Temari looked at her.

"You know what your right." Then she turned to Tenten and hissed. "It better be him or next time I see you, you'll be hanging upside down from a tree, I don't care if you're pregnant."

Tenten laughed and pushed the two girls forward. Temari took off with Hinata, the Hyuga wanted to look good for her date. Temari didn't care, her threat to Tenten wasn't meant to be taken seriously, she knew Shikamaru wouldn't agree to go on a blind date. _But it wouldn't hurt to try._

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♥

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**AN: and we will see how the blind date goes. **

**Lily: Idc...**

**Rose: wut's wrong?**

**Lily: Grumpy replaced me**

**Grumpy: I was joking around**

**Lily: sure you were I'm pretty sure you were already poking her when I left**

**Grumpy: we were having fun.**

**Lily: I'm mad at him.**

**Grumpy: Fine**

**Lily: Fine, u traitor u replaced me**

**Grumpy: Omg Shit I was JUST KIDDING**

**Rose: If you don't mind guys can you stop flirting for a moment so I can tell ppl wut happens in the next chapter.**

_**Rose gets beat up**_

**ok so i got enough reviews tat i decided to move on, honestly, i like this chapter i decided to focus on Tenten and Neji in this one but the next one will be of the _"Blind date"_ and OMG when is the beautiful rose gonna come back...we will see mwuhahahahahaha**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer:

**Rose are red**

**violets are blue**

**I don't own Naruto**

**So please don't sue**

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**AN: **I feel so disappointed...Not that many reviews...which makes me think I'm boring ppl... oh well for the ppl that actually read!! I think I'm sure now what I'm gonna do...I THINK...cause yea...anyways blind date...Will Shika-kun go? Will he live through it if he goes? We shall see!!!!

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♥

Chapter 9

♥

_I'm not going on a blind date with some girl I barely know._

Shikamaru was hoping that Temari would be back. And if she was back, and saw him with some girl...That would really ruin everything. So no, he wasn't going to show up to that stupid date no matter what.

"Shikamaru wait up dattebayo!" he heard someone call. Well not someone, Naruto. Who else would say something weird like _dattebayo_ after every sentence.

"eh?" he huffed. He didn't want to listen to Naruto's rambling when he was trying to come up with a plan. _(AN:You know his plan that involves The rose and Temari he's __**always **__thinking of that!!!!) _

"You're coming right?" Naruto yelled from across the street. A few minutes later, he joined a very annoyed Shikamaru.

"No!" Shikamaru said. He wasn't going, no need to lie to Naruto.

"Why dattebayo?!" Naruto wailed.

"Because," Could Naruto be trusted? "Because, I'm busy!"

"No you're not, Tsunade-no-bacchan gave us all a few days off, that includes you!" who knew Naruto was so quick to remember these things. _(AN: Shikamaru is so focused on his plans and stuff that he forgot it was only an hour ago P)_

"I can't go!" He said again.

"But you have to, I'm your friend and that's what friends do, they help each other." What was it with Naruto today? Maybe he should have just agreed to go, less trouble, less yelling, less listening to Naruto's annoying voice.

But what if Temari saw him? She would be sure that he didn't care about her. Then she would leave and he'd have to go through a new series of trouble to get her to listen to him.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto wailed again.

_Jeez, his voice is annoying._

_**I second that!**_

_Why the hell are you back?_

_**Just go on the date boy, it won't hurt.**_

_First of all, you are as old as me, aren't you? And second, why the hell are you back?_

_**I'm your subconscious, I know more stuff than you, making me older than you as well, just go on that date!**_

_Ok, ok, I already got a mother I don't need another one._

_**You have no idea!**_

_Just shut up!!!_

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled bringing Shikamaru out of his trans.

"Ne?" he said annoyed.

"Are you coming?" Naruto said rolling his eyes.

"Do I have another choice?" Between his so called _subconscious_ and Naruto's annoying voice he really didn't think he did.

_**No You don't!**_

"No you don't" Naruto said with a grin.

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"Really Shikamaru, it's a date, you should dress up!" Naruto said trying to catch Shikamaru's attention. He had decided that he wanted to bring Sasuke and Sakura along with him, this had annoyed Shikamaru greatly,

"_Why do I have to go if they're going?" he had asked Naruto._

"_Because I say so!"_

And so he was forced to go to this stupid date, and he really wasn't in the mood for Naruto's talking right then.

"I don't want to." _no really Naruto, just because I came to this stupid date doesn't mean I'll listen to you about everything._

"Why aren't you happy about this date?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru had thought he was the only one on the verge of hitting Naruto, apparently he was wrong. Just as Naruto asked this, Sakura bumped him on the head.

"Seriously Naruto, how dense can you get?" She hissed.

"Nani?" Naruto asked confused. Even Sasuke sighed.

"Don't you know why Shikamaru doesn't want to go on that date?" he asked his 'best friend'

"No dattebayo!"

"Then I'll leave you in the dark." Sasuke grinned.

"Damn it tell me." he whined.

"No!" Sasuke answered.

"Tell me dattebayo!"

_-Crash-_

"Ow..dattebayo..."

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Hinata was blushing madly as she and Temari waited for their dates.

_Huh..! And I thought she had gained some confidence. _Temari thought mischievously, she really wasn't worried, the guy was probably someone she'd never met and she'd never meet again, so why fret over nothing.

"Hinata, are you trying to impersonate a tomato?" Hinata grew even redder, who knew that was possible. "I really don't think it's working." Temari laughed.

"Um...Temari-san...aren't you nervous...?" She asked.

"No!" She turned around and faced the fountain. "Why should I be?" She gave Hinata a reassuring smile. "Why should you be nervous?"

Hinata seemed to consider this for a minute. Then she regained her composure and smiled as well. "I guess I shouldn't be..."

"Ow...dattebayo..!" the voice echoed through the alley to the fountain they were standing by.

"Was that Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Who else would say the word dattebayo?" Temari laughed. "from the way he sounds, the guy he brought with him has little patience." _I guess it isn't Shikamaru._ She smiled.

"huh...poor Naruto-kun." Hinata laughed.

A few minutes later and they could see shadows of four people, walking towards the fountain. _Four, I thought there were only two _Temari thought. _At least they have shadows...jeez Temari you're going stupid,_ everyone_ has a shadow._

They were in sight now. _Why are Sasuke and Sakura here?_ They were the first people Temari saw, and then Naruto came running towards them, engaging Hinata in a sort of bear hug. The poor girl nearly fainted. Temari looked again, to see who her _mystery date_ was, she saw a slouched figure behind Sasuke and Sakura. _I guess I won't see him until they come nearer._

Sakura, who had barely noticed her moved to her left, exposing the person behind her.

_It can't be.._

anger filled her as she his face, so he _had_ agreed to go on a with a total stranger, meaning he had forgotten her. She cursed herself for being so naive. _Oh come on, maybe he has an explanation._

Shikamaru seemed alarmed when he saw her, but it was quickly replaced by relief as she smiled. She had convinced herself to hear him out. And so, he stepped next to her.

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_I'm really in for it now, _he thought as he saw her. She was mad, it was obvious, wait, was she smiling. He sighed, relief flooding through his face, maybe this could work out.

_After all, I didn't know what my next action would be, I have to thank Tenten._

_**How about you give her some baby clothes?**_

_Shut up!_

To his surprise, it did shut up, he walked towards Temari.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey!" she smiled back.

There was a moment when he thought she would hug him, this night was getting better by the minute.

"It's Temari dattebayo? Huh, and I was hoping he would actually meet someone he could like!"

Or not. Trust Naruto to ruin a perfectly good moment.

He looked at Temari, she didn't look too happy.

"What?" she yelled looking at Naruto.

Naruto, finally acquiring a brain, (_AN:unlikely!)_ backed away a bit. "You know...I meant...someone that was...his type..."

_**gosh, that kid is stupid, he's going from bad to worse.**_

_You know for once, I agree with you._

"What's wrong with me?" she asked taking a step towards Naruto. Shikamaru decided that Naruto had brought this on himself and if he-Shikamaru- was lucky, Temari wouldn't be mad at him.

"Nothing, nothing it's just that..." Naruto looked around nervously, "Someone help!" he pleaded.

Nobody moved to help him. Sasuke grinned. "You should have kept your mouth shut."

"But...but...I was thinking of Shikamaru..." he tried.

"Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

Naruto, too scared to talk, merely nodded.

"So..." she turned towards Shikamaru. "Am I to believe this?"

"Absolutely not I didn't even want to come to this date!"

"Because you knew I was gonna be here." She smiled, no not one of those nice sweet smiles, the smile that says I'm gonna kill you jackass.

"No I did not..." he tried.

"You know what...screw this!" she turned around and started running towards a rooftop.

"Oi Temari wait!" he ran after her leaving the others behind, only one thought going through his head. '_Damn you Naruto!'_

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"Should we go help him?" Hinata asked looking after Shikamaru.

"No, I think he can handle this himself." Sasuke answered.

"I still don't get it." Everyone turned to Naruto. "Why would Shikamaru go after her?"

"Seriously Naruto, do you use your brain?" Sasuke asked.

"Let me correct that, do you _have_ a brain?" Sakura asked.

Naruto flinched and looked at Hinata. "Will you tell me what happened here?"

"You're an idiot, Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a raised eyebrow.

"Ouch!" Sasuke laughed.

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_Stupid date, stupid Naruto, stupid Shikamaru, stupid heart._

Temari thought angrily as she leaped from rooftop to rooftop. This was all Tenten's fault, and when she saw that bloody...(_AN: lets have her thoughts cut off from there, this story is only rated T_)

"I swear Tenten, I'm gonna kill you." she had come to a clearing and decided it was the best place to clear her mind. She closed her eyes, that note was still in her pocket-she had not bothered to change for some stupid blind date- maybe if she read it again.

_Come to me before it's too late._

_(AN: Lily, remember where I got that from?)_

It sounded awfully romantic. She closed her eyes and sighed. Shikamaru wouldn't be that romantic, for him it'd be too troublesome!

She put the note back in her pocket and looked up at the sky. It was so beautiful. She was about to relax when..

"That's my favorite cloud-watching place!" she turned around to see Shikamaru leaning on a pole.

She blinked."What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" he said.

"Because...?"

"Because I want you to listen to me for once."

she raised her eyebrows "About?"

"I take it you found the flowers?" he asked changing the subject.

"hey how do you know..?" Maybe it was him.

"Damn it, do you know how long it took me to actually find all of those flowers?" he asked frustrated.

She smiled, it was him after all. She dug in her pocket and took out the note. She skipped the part about one of a kind and read the sentence that she liked the most. "come to me before it's too late, doesn't sound like something you would write."

"Yea well it wasn't some sand idiot that searched the desert for five hours looking for flowers." he said.

"Am I to believe you went through so much trouble just for me?" _would he really do such a thing?_ "You, the laziest person in Konoha, no wait, in the world, would go through so much trouble just for one mere girl, who is older than him, and might, or might not like him?"

"Yes" he answered coolly.

"Well, what if I wasn't impressed with the flowers?" she smirked.

"You would be, because one, all girls like flowers, and two, if you didn't like me, you wouldn't agree to sleep with me." He had the upper hand now.

"Something I regretted instantly. What if I'd ended up like Tenten?" she asked.

"Then unlike Neji, I would marry you without a second thought." he answered honestly.

She was taken back. Would he marry her? At the age of seventeen?

"You wouldn't marry me at such a young age." she reasoned.

"Which is why I'm happy you _aren't_ pregnant. I wouldn't want you to think the only reason I'd want to marry you is because you're pregnant."

"What?"

"You know, you're very mendokuse." he sighed and stepped forward. She stood. "Now this is only a theory, but I think...I might love you!"

_**What theory, you love her!**_

_Shut up! I can handle it._

He stepped forward again only to find that she had done the same thing.

"Could it be that I was wrong?" she asked her face mere inches away from his.

"You were!" he breathed closing his eyes.

"Prove it," she said with a force that made him open his eyes. He dug in his pocket and brought out his last desert lily (_AN: it's the only one that sticks to my mind!_)

"I thought I already had." he said offering her the flower.

She took it and smiled. "Maybe you have...maybe not."

"What else do you want me to do?" he asked, this was frustrating.

"I'll think of something." she came closer, he was sure she would kiss him. But he made a mistake of closing his eyes, when he opened them she was gone.

_**Nice way of handling things.**_

_At least she's not mad. _

_**Hey maybe you don't need my guidance anymore.**_

_Really?!?_

_**no.**_

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"Hey Hinata," Naruto said as he was about to drop off Hinata at her house,

"What is it Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"What did I say to make Temari mad?"

_-crash-_

"Ow..dattebayo! Hinata!"

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♥♡♥

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**AN: This chapter was so much fun to write, idk y it just was, I guess I'm too happy about Pirates of the Caribbean to actually care...its such a great movie!!!I love the third one. Oh dear Will, a marriage during a battle, you truly are the best. Ehem enough spoilers, ok well this story is NOT over, I'll write more! Ok well Review!!! makes me happy, stops global warming!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:**

_Roses Are Red_

_Violets Are Blue_

_I Don't Own Naruto_

_So Don't you Dare Sue_

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**AN: Rose is dead, she died because she stole Temari's fan and would not return it, this is her ghost, and she hasn't updated cause she is you know, dead! But her ghost thanks everyone that reviewed.**

**Well that was a joke, I saw pirates AGAIN and i saw the ending after the credits, it was so worth it, but have you ever read those credits? There was like, Mr. Bloom's security, and janitors and all those people, seriously, who wants to read that? oh well i wont spoil the ending for anyone, like last time, sorry!!! But that part with the Brethren court was hella funny!!!**

_**Temari: **_your still alive? I thought i killed you!

_**Rose:**_ Ha do you want me to tell them, where i found your fan???

_**Temari:**_ You know I'd kill you!

_**Rose:**_ You tried before and didn't succeed what makes you think it'll work this time?

_**Temari:**_ Third time's the charm.

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_Get her something, get her something, I should get her something, What the hell am I supposed to get her?_

Silence.

_Oh now that I really need its help it's gone!_

Shikamaru walked the streets of Konoha aimlessly trying to figure out a new strategy. The good thing was, the inner voice was gone, or was that a bad thing? He really needed help right now.

_I wonder if Kakashi could help me?_

"ow! watch where you're going kid" someone yelled at him, he looked up to see white hair and an old, scowling face.

"sorry!" he said an tried to walk away quickly.

"Nope, you bumped into me, now if it was a girl, that would've been nice, but it's you." the old man yelled.

"sorry Jiraya, won't happen again!" he tried to walk away again but the man wasn't listening.

"Nope, listen Nara You can make it up to me." Jiraya had one of his perverted smiles. "How about we go get a drink?"

"I'm not twenty-one yet!" _Oh great now I'm stuck with an old fart._

"Oh well you could come peeking with me!" he laughed and shook Shikamaru, Shikamaru tried to get away but whatever he said wouldn't work. So, he gave up and decided to follow the man.

Five minutes into the forest and they reached their destination. It was a waterfall, but it looked empty. Jiraya groaned.

"Oh, they're not here today." he said disappointed.

"Good, does that mean I can leave?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, why do you want to leave so bad ha? Most boys your age would love to peek at women." Jiraya looked at the waterfall hopefully. "You're not gay are you?" he said wrinkling his nose.

"No," Shikamaru answered pissed.

"Or a eunuch?"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "No,"

"Well then, you need to find yourself a girl." Jiraya concluded.

Shikamaru sighed, he could tell the pervert the truth and maybe, he'd get out of it sooner. "I already found a girl."

"You did?" Jiraya asked.

"Yes, I just need to get her something, to, to prove that I love her." he sighed. _Just a bit longer, you can stay here and not go crazy._

"Huh, you don't need to get her anything." Jiraya dug in his pocket and took out a book. "Here read this book." he handed it to Shikamaru, who hesitantly took it. "It'll help."

Shikamaru looked at the book. It was one of those perverted books Kakashi read.

"You think a porn book is gonna help me?" he asked.

"Hey, my books are not porn. Look kid, it won't hurt, now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go try the bathhouse, maybe the girls are there." And to Shikamaru's relief, Jiraya disappeared.

"Huh! What am I going to do with this?" he asked himself. He decided the best thing was to throw it in the river. He was about to when:

_**Hoi kid, read the book.**_

The book fell out of his hands as he lost balance and fell in the river. When he resurfaced, he saw that the stupid book was not wet at all.

_**Huh, at least it's safe.**_

_I thought you were gone._

_**I'm never gone.**_

_Why didn't you say anything when I asked you then?_

_**I was busy.**_

_How?_

_**Trying to figure out what to do, but it seems that solutions find their way to you, read the book.**_

_No, it was written by the biggest pervert alive._

_**Kakashi seems to like it.**_

_Cheh, you are the most troublesome inner voice I have ever had._

_**You've never had another inner voice.**_

_I'll read only a page._

He got out of the water and took the book, opened it to a random page and started reading.

☰

"_She cannot do this to me, I have loved her so _

_much I have sacrificed everything, just to be with _

_her and yet she has decided that sleeping with another _

_man gives her more pleasure. What am I to do? She _

_is not mine anymore. I don't wish to go to her wedding,_

_I know that it is only going to make me cry. So what..."_

☰

"Jeez, this is so stupid." Shikamaru said closing the book.

_**Open another page.**_

_No._

_**Just do it.**_

_Mendokuse._

He opened another page and started reading.

☰

"_I have decided to tell her my feelings. I am_

_going to write her a love letter and tell her_

_exactly how I feel for her. She might break_

_my heart, but at least it is worth a try. I will_

_tell her that I'd give up everything just to be _

_with her. Maybe then she'd believe me. Girls _

_like flowers don't they? I'd get her some..." _

☰

he closed the book. The letter was of course his first idea. But how was he supposed to write her a letter?

_**Hey, where is she staying?**_

_I don't know._

_**You idiot.**_

_You are such a pain._

_**Write her a letter. **_

_I already did._

_**Another one.**_

_Hey the letter was my idea._

_**No it wasn't.**_

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Neji sat through his uncle's lecture. He took all the blame and told his uncle that he wanted to marry Tenten.

_-Flashback-_

"_How could you do this to us Neji? I thought you were responsible. I thought you could be trusted in these matters. I thought of you as a son. I thought I knew you. I was wrong." Hiashi yelled. _

"_I'm sorry uncle." Neji tried._

"_Sorry is not going to help. What are we to do? This girl is not a Hyuga, you cannot marry her. But she is going to have a child that has the Byakugan. We cannot have a child with the Byakugan out of this clan. This is bad for our reputation." _

"_Uncle, I wish to marry her." Neji said calmly._

"_Marry her? Have you not been listening to me? She is not a Hyuga, therefor you, the most talented Hyuga I have ever seen, better than myself and your father, cannot marry her. That is off limits."_

"_But uncle-"_

"_No! I will not let you."_

"_It is going to be _my_ child uncle. I wish to be there for him. I want him to have a father. And I love Tenten, she is very talented."_

"_Talented is not enough. She is not of Hyuga bloodline. Her child would be better off if it died."_

_Neji gasped. His uncle did not just suggest... "No, uncle. I have decided to take my faith into my own hands, I want to marry Tenten, she would be the best wife anyone could ask for, and I do not want **my **child dead." he said forcefully._

_Hiashi was taken back. "You are defying me? Defying the rules of our clan? Our clan is the oldest and noblest in Konoha, you cannot shame us like this." _

_Neji reached for his forehead protector and took it off. The seal on his forehead was visible. He pointed to it. "Uncle, you have taken me into your care. You have been my teacher these past few years. Yet, I still have this cursed seal on my forehead. I cannot forget that it was you who did it. I do not blame you, it was what had to be done. But I will not let you ruin my life again. I will not." _

_Hiashi hesitated, considering this matter. "It is not only me, what of the elders?"_

"_But you are the leader."_

_Hiashi closed his eyes, and nodded. "I will tell them of your decision, we can only hope that they agree."_

_Neji nodded. "What about you uncle? What do you think of this? Without the tradition I mean."_

"_The girl listened to me yell for hours without flinching." he chuckled. "I think she could be a good match for you, if only she was a Hyuga..."_

_-end of flashback-_

Now he was looking for her. He had decided to propose. He didn't care about the elders. _To hell with them, I'll marry her anyways._

He touched the ring in her pocket. _What if she says no? _He flinched. _Lets hope she agrees. For the sake of my boy, if not for us._

Looking around, he spotted Lee.

"Hey Lee, have you seen Tenten?" he asked.

"No my friend! Why do you ask?" Lee answered energetically. Neji decided that Lee was his closest friend, and it wouldn't hurt if he knew. He dug in his pocket and took the ring out to show it to Lee.

"I'm going to propose." he smirked.

"Oh a wedding" Lee yelled. "I love weddings, two souls binding together because of love!" he said dreamily. "I wish someone loved me."

"A piece of advice, get rid of the jumpsuit." Neji suggested and walked away, he needed to find Tenten.

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"Temari, how did the date go?" Tenten asked happily.

"Naruto's an idiot." Temari replied.

"And you barely noticed?" Tenten laughed.

"No I mean, ah forget it." Temari sighed. Tenten was in one of those hyper moods.

"Well, how did it go?" Tenten asked again.

"The actual date went horrible. But," Temari stopped and looked around, when she was sure no one was around, she told Tenten the whole story.

"No way? This Shikamaru?" Tenten asked amazed.

"Yes, he showed me one of the flowers." Temari confirmed this by digging in her pocket and taking out a Desert Lily.

"Didn't I tell you it was him?" Tenten teased.

"Yea, but I need more proof. I haven't trusted guys in a very long time." she sighed.

"Why?"

"Something happened, when I was thirteen." She closed her eyes.

"What happened?" Tenten asked carefully.

_-flashback-_

"_I think I love you." The boy whispered after he kissed her. Temari felt like flying. She was so happy, this was the best thing that could happen._

"_Kenta," She whispered and hugged him tight. _

_XXXX_

_It was only two days later that she saw him with another girl, telling her the same thing he'd told Temari._

"_You bastard." she yelled reaching for her fan. "You lying bastard. You said you loved me."_

_Kenta smiled. "I lied."_

_she hit him with her fan so hard, he was never able to walk again._

_-end of flashback-_

x

_**INTERMISSION:I KNO THIS FLASHBACK SUCKS, BUT PLEASE BEAR WITH ME! END OF INTERMISSION**_

x

"He hurt me so bad I was never able to trust a guy again, well except Gaara and Kankuro" She finished telling Tenten.

"Aw I'm sorry, but you know Temari, all guys aren't like that," Tenten said. "And it was years ago, I think someone like you should be able to move on."

"I did move on, I even become friends with the girl he was making out with." she lowered her head. "She died in a mission."

"Well, I think you should give Shikamaru a chance." Tenten said.

"I did, I wonder what he's doing right now..." Temari replied.

"Oh don't go all girly on me please, tell you what" Tenten smiled. "You can help shop for baby clothes and after that, I'll listen to you talk about Nara all you want."

"Fine," Temari muttered.

They were about to leave the bridge, _(AN: yes they were sitting on a bridge.)_ When Temari spotted a figure walking towards them. A few more steps revealed him to be Neji. Temari motioned Tenten to stop and pointed at Neji. "Maybe he's here to talk to you" she whispered.

"I don't think so?" Tenten whispered back.

Temari was about to reply when Neji finally reached them. He looked at Tenten and was about to speak when Temari decided it was time to leave. Unfortunately, Tenten noticed her.

"Where are you going Temari?" She asked alarmed.

"I think I'm gonna leave you guys alone." she said quickly and left to hide in the bushes. _(AN: yes Temari is nosy.)_ she found a comfortable spot and turned to see Neji on his knees.

"I don't know why I didn't do this earlier." he started. "Tenten, I know you're mad at me, but please listen. I'm not good at these things, but...will you marry me?

"For the sake of our baby, even if you don't care about me. I don't want him to grow up without a me, his father. I know how that feels and I don't want my son to lack the love a father can give. And you Tenten, I care deeply about you. We've known each other for so long. You are beautiful, intelligent, and I know you'd make a perfect wife. I can only hope you'll forgive me for before. For taking things too far. I know love is a deep emotion, I understand if you..."

To her surprise, Temari saw Tenten was crying as she put one of her hands on Neji's mouth to stop him from talking.

"Neji, I'd love to marry you." She said and hugged him. There was more crying on Tenten's part, Temari didn't know if Neji was crying as well, since his face was hidden. But the boy was shaking, so Temari decided they were both crying.

_Wow, Neji's not a jerk._ She thought happily. If Neji-who never showed much emotion-could be romantic like that, then maybe Shikamaru could be trusted as well.

"Wait did you say son?" Tenten asked untangling herself from Neji's arms.

"Of course, I am confident that our child is a boy." Neji answered.

"No way, it's gonna be a girl, I'm the mom I know." Tenten said wiping her tears.

"No a boy."

"A girl." Tenten said giving Neji a dangerous look.

"Yes, uh, whatever you say."

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"Where the hell is that damn rose?" Shikamaru yelled. He had turned the living room upside down and yet, there was no sign of the rose.

"I have to find it." he yelled again.

"Find what?" the voice mad him jump.

"Ah, Temari what are you doing at my house?" he asked annoyed.

"I'm staying at your house baka." She answered.

"Have you decided what I have to do?" he asked changing the subject. But he could not ignore the happiness that took over his heart when he heard that.

"Actually, I decided I'll trust you. Just because it's you." she said coming closer. He blinked, had he just messed up his house for nothing?

"Aren't you gonna say anything." she moved closer and put her hands on his chest.

_**Say something idiot.**_

But he couldn't think of anything, not with her that close.

_**Tell her she's beautiful.**_

"Uh..you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen." he said.

"Prettier than Ino?" she asked smiling.

"Definitely."

_**-Elsewhere-**_

"Ow.." Ino said rubbing her neck.

"What is it?" Chouji asked.

"Someone just called a girl prettier than me."

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**AN: don't you love this chapter? Its cute if you ask me, and o yea...wait i forgot what i was gonna say. Anyways, a wedding, I love weddings drinks all around.**

**Jack: **you stole that from me.

**Rose:** Pirate.

**Jack: **NO, you're not.

**Rose: **Yes I am, look at the medallion.

**Jack: **you bought that at the mall.

**Rose:** Shut up, _-slaps jack-_ don't you dare say you didn't deserve that Jack Sparrow.

**Jack: **_CAPTAIN_jack sparrow, savvy?

**Rose: **I wish Will was here, but you're cool too.

**Jack: **I get that a lot mate.

**AN: hoped you enjoyed it and Review, each review brings Jack-ahem- captain Jack closer to immortality.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:**

_Rose are Red _

_Violets are Blue_

_I don't own Naruto_

_So don't you dare Sue_

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**AN: A new obsession, its called Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and its the best Indian movie I've ever watched. Can't beat pirates, at least I think it can't...now I just need to order it from the Internet. Or wait, does anyone know an Indian shop anywhere near Canoga Park, CA? I need that movie. Oh well, heres some people talking while I go watch the movie again-online.**

**Temari: **_You know, I want to get married._

**Jack: **_Well If you're interested I-crash-_

**Elizabeth:**_ Jack stop trying to seduce a woman from a different Universe._

**Jack: **_I could try to seduce seduce _**_you _**_instead._

**Will: **_Nope she's taken._

**Jack: **_That could be changed._

**Will: **_No it can't she had **my** son.._

**Jack: **_how do you know it's your son mate?_

**Shikamaru: **_Will you both shut up? No one wants to hear that._

**Rose: **_I'm back, everyone shut up! Ok heres the next chapter!_

Current song: Mere Khabon Mein

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**Chapter 11**

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"doo doo doo!" Temari sang as she got Tenten ready for her engagement. "You look very pretty!" she smiled.

Tenten looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "Thank you."

"You know in Suna, well a long time ago, women fasted the day they got married. Then they're would be husband would feed them at the end of the day." _(AN:some part of it made up by me, some stolen from Indian culture. Me no own tat either.)_ Temari said fixing Tenten's hair.

Tenten looked up. "I want to do that." She suddenly said.

Temari shook her head. "Nope, that would just be you." she explained. "You can't fast by yourself, you have to have other women with you, besides you're pregnant."

"So what?" Tenten asked. "Come on, you fast with me."

"I'm not married." Temari said. "You have to be married to fast."

"Get you're boyfriend to feed you." Tenten persisted.

"Boyfriend?" Temari asked. "What boyfriend?"

"Come on." Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me."

-_flashback-_

"_Prettier than Ino?" Temari asked._

"_Definitely." he answered._

"_hm.." she said looking deep in thought. "Maybe I could forgive you for taking advantage of me." she said smiling._

"_That's all I'm asking." he said relaxing a bit._

_She didn't miss that. "Uh-uh." she said shaking her finger. "No time to relax. Tenten's getting married."_

_he looked surprised. "what does that have to do with me?"_

"_I need a date."_

_That made him laugh. _(AN:yes Shikamaru laughed.) _"Oh?" _

"_Exactly."_

_-end of flashback-_

Tenten laughed. "You remember now?"

She smacked Tenten's hair. "Shut up and get ready. Stupid engagement party's gonna take up all my time."

"What?" Tenten asked, she'd stopped laughing.

"Who's gonna decorate the place?" Temari replied.

"Oh!"

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Temari hummed as she decorated the hall for Tenten's engagement. She didn't ask anyone else to help. Mostly because she felt like being alone. She tried to imagine herself married. She would definitely have roses instead of this weird flowers Tenten had asked for. They looked more like snakes than flowers.

"Oi here's the next one." Neji said as he made his way to where Temari was. Temari saw him carrying yet another box of flowers and frowned.

"What's with these weird flowers?" she asked Neji. "They creep me out."

Neji shrugged. "Tenten seems to like them." he handed Temari the boxes and left quickly. Temari sighed. She had asked to decorate the place, but she expected someone to show up to help her at least. Where was Ino? she seemed like the kind of person that would love decorating.

As if on cue, there came a loud squeal that was followed by a very exited Ino.

"Ah, why didn't anyone tell me there was decorating to be done?" she wrinkled her nose as she eyed the flowers "eww, what the hell are these?" she asked

Temari looked at Ino, then shrugged. "Tenten ordered them."

"Well no worries I'll get rid of these." Ino said taking the box from Temari and walking towards the trash.

Temari looked at her worried, "I don't think Tenten would be happy if you..."

"Jeez relax Temari, I'm an expert in flower arrangement, Tenten would be happy to be rid of this crap." She said as she dumped the box in the trash. "Now, if I had someone to go bring some Cyclamen from the shop..." she looked around, "Isn't anyone else here to help you?" she asked Temari but started talking before the other blond could answer. "Never mind, I wonder where Chouji is? He was right behind me. Chouji?" she called towards the door.

A few minutes later, Chouji emerged holding an empty basket. Ino glared at him before she opened her mouth again.

"Forget my lunch, Chouji get Shikamaru and go to the flower shop. I want you to get three dozens of Cyclamen. Get here in less than 30 min. Understand?"

Chouji nodded and left.

Temari stood there for a moment, amazed that the fat boy would listen to Ino's orders without complaining. But she was taken back to reality as Ino started shaking her.

"Hey, hey, hey, what?" she asked untangling herself from Ino's grasp.

"You have a date?" she asked Temari.

"Why?" Temari asked suspiciously.

"Just asking, who's your date." Ino answered innocently.

Temari smiled. "My boyfriend." she said as she walked towards the door, leaving an angry Ino behind.

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Shikamaru played with his tie. He just didn't understand why he had to wear something like this. It wasn't his wedding. But Temari had demanded this and if Temari was happy, he was happy, and if he was happy, that stupid inner voice would leave him alone.

_**I'm back.**_

_Mendokuse, why the hell are you back._

_**You're wearing your tie the wrong way.**_

_I don't need your help._

_**Yes you do.**_

_NO I need a psychologist._

"Shikamaru." Chouji's voice brought him back from his argument.

"What?" he asked.

"Ino wants us to go get some flowers-" he stopped as he looked at Shikamaru. "Are you wearing a suit and a...tie?!" he asked laughing.

Shikamaru gave Chouji an angry look. "Temari is making me wear this," when Chouji raised an eyebrow, he continued. "She wants me to look _decent._" he sighed.

Chouji now laughed harder. "Sorry dude, but it's your own fault, you were the one that liked her."

_**Loved her!**_

"Shut up," Shikamaru said talking to both the inner voice and his best friend.

Chouji laughed even harder._(If that's possible.)_ "I wonder when you'll get married."

_**Soon my friend Soon!**_

"Get out of my house before I'm forced to use Kagemano on you." Shikamaru said pointing to the door.

"But Ino said..." Chouji started.

"You know what? I don't care what Ino said, but you sure do! I wonder why?" Shikamaru said cutting off Chouji.

"I..I...you know..she's our teammate...that's why..." Chouji answered._(AN:Woooooo Chouji's embarrassed.)_

"Nice try, but I'm not that dumb. Now I suggest you leave before I get anything else out of you." Shikamaru said laughing.

Chouji had decided that he should leave before he let anything else out and left Shikamaru alone. Shikamaru sighed, he really needed to pay more attention to his best friend's life. They had grown so apart since he had fallen for Temari, but what else could he do, he just hoped that when Temari left, he'd have enough time to attend to other things. He wasn't sure how long he could last without her.

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"You know, as much as I'd like to go to your... whatever it is, I really have to train." Naruto said as Hinata asked him for the fiftieth time to go to Neji's engagement.

"Come on Naruto-kun, it'll be fun, it's an engagement and you'll get to dress up, and there'll be drinks-"

"I can't drink I'm not twenty-one yet." Naruto said cutting Hinata off. "Why the hell is Neji getting engaged anyways? I thought he lacked any kind of emotion."

"Naruto-kun that's rude, Neji-niisan is very emotional, he just doesn't show it, you can still drink, it doesn't matter, and _you're going_, that's final."

"But-"

"No buts" Hinata said firmly. _(AN: I love OC Hinata, she's so awesome!!!)_

"Oh come on!"

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"Hey where is Neji?" Temari said looking around. There were already people in the big room, but no Neji.

"You think he got cold feet?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I don't think so, you should've heard his speech. Oh Tenten, I care deeply about you. We've known each other for so long. You are beautiful, intelligent, and I know you'd make a perfect wife. I can only hope you'll forgive me for before- Ow" Temari laughed as Tenten hit her on the head but she went on. "I never knew that boy had so much emotion in him."  
"Shut up, you don't know him." Tenten said.

"Look there he is." Hinata said pointing to a boy walking towards them. Neji was not wearing his forehead protector, his curse mark was hidden behind bandages, his hair loose. He was wearing a black suit, and even to Temari-who didn't like boys with too long hair that made them look like girls- thought he looked handsome. Tenten gasped then smiled, definitely relieved that Neji had shown up. Neji walked up to them and gave all three girls a smile, then held out his hand for Tenten to take. Tenten took it slowly and waved to the other two as she left. Temari managed a smile. Now that Tenten was gone, she could look around for Shikamaru. Hinata looked anxious as well, so Temari decided to ask her what was wrong.

"Naruto-kun didn't want to come, I had to force him, I wonder if he dressed properly." She answered looking at the guests.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here, and if he's not, you could hit him like last time." Temari laughed and decided to leave Hinata alone.

She didn't have to look for long. Shikamaru was standing near the food court with Chouji who looked uncomfortable-probably sad that he couldn't touch the food yet. She took one look at him and rolled her eyes. He had complained for so long about wearing a tie, now even his tie looked weird.

"You're wearing the tie wrong." she said as she walked up to him.

"I don't care." he answered looking away.

"You should or else your head is gonna meet my fan." She smiled dangerously.

"Where is that huge thing anyways." he asked looking at her.

"Left it at you're house." she answered.

"Ok, bye." he made a run for the door but she grabbed him before he could move.

"Come on, I'm just kidding, let me fix the tie for you." She said turning him around and fighting with his tie. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like _troublesome women _and_ tie_ but other than that he kept quite, he didn't seem to mind being pushed around by Temari until...

"Aww, that's so sweet," Came Ino's annoying voice._(AN: Why I decided this be Ino, 1: I hate her 2: she's bitchy and annoying.)_

"Ino, what do you want." Shikamaru asked annoyed. Yes Ino was his friend, and loved her in some ways, but sometimes she could be an annoying loudmouth.

Ino ignored him, instead she looked at Temari. "When you said boyfriend, I didn't think you meant him." she laughed.

Temari glared at her. "Well then Ino, you need to either borrow a brain, or buy one, I think Naruto's would be a great improvement to your own." she said back. Temari did not like to be interrupted while with Shikamaru, not in that way.

Ino looked like she'd been slapped. She walked all the way to Chouji, grabbed his hand, and stormed off. Temari eyed the two for a minute and turned to Shikamaru. "Hey Nara, what's that about?" she asked.

"I have no idea," he answered honestly and drew her closer. "I couldn't care less." he smirked and rested his forehead on hers. She pushed him away.

"No, you're not gonna get away with not telling me what's happened between your teammates no matter what you do. It's Ino, anything against her would be gold-for Tenten, cause she was very mad about her flowers- come on tell me."

"Really, I don't know," he answered.

"Fine then no dance for you!" she said.

"Good, I don't like dances." he replied.

"Oh, I see how it is," she gasped and turned to leave. "fine then I'm leaving."

"Hey Temari," he called after her. "Temari...hey! Oh great." he sighed and sat down-on the ground. This night just got a troublesome boost.

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_**AN**_**: this chapter is just a gate for the next chapter, which is gonna be the most important one yet...i think, i know it sucks but still this is only half the chapter, the other one will come out soon i hope and I don't wanna ruin the next chapter so lets only give one hint: **

Shikamaru Drunk

**And i know it took me long to update but i had a mager writers block couldn't think of anything, and i mean ANYTHING. Anyways review because really, this chapter leads to the next chapter, and if I don't get reviews...well you know me, i get disappointed which equals to me not writing...**

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**hehe it took me so long to update i was looking back and i saw how i wrote about DDLJ and watching it online, now i have the movie, man i did take long to update!!!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:**

_**Roses are Red**_

_**Violets are Blue**_

_**I don't own Naruto**_

_**So don't you dare Sue**_

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**AN: no I'm not dead this time, I was Utah, and Utah is so fun i didn't really go near my computer! And I've been lazy with updates, the thing is, i don't know how to put the thoughts in my head into words and so I've decided to stop torturing my readers, this is probably the last chapter, and maybe an epilogue, if this isn't the last chapter, then theres one more chapter after this...so yea and i don't need people telling me that their jumping with joy!!!! that hurts my feelings...by the way, is any of you people a Bleach lover? I'm trying to figure out who Ichigo likes better Rukia or that girl with huge boobs...? you see my Internet's an ass and wont let me watch it online and we canceled the cable so...yea if anyone's got an answer please tell me in the review...i know i know huge AN but what can I do? I just love talking!!**

**Ichigo: **_Who's the girl with big boobs?_

**Rose: **_Orihime!_

**Ichigo: **_You mean Inoue?? _

**Rose: **_yea her...personally i want you to like Rukia!_

**Ichigo:**_ Ah what did I ever do to you?-_**blushing-**

**Rose: **_Come on you know I'm right!_

**Ichigo: **_What__ a pain._

**Shika-kun: **_hey that's my word!!!!!_

_**(and so, Shikamaru beats up Ichigo the Shinigami, because Shika-kun is hotter, stronger, and just cooler. end of story)**_

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"Hey, hey, Shikamaru, try this." Naruto had been sitting with Neji next to the bar, yet Shikamaru was his target tonight. The boy's sudden mood had worried Naruto at first, but after a while his worry turned to annoyance. Shikamaru would not answer any of his questions-which were all out of concern _not_ curiosity- and he wouldn't try any of the drinks.

"You dope, leave him alone." Neji said while he tried the weird mixture of Margarita and sake. "He's probably annoyed by you."

"Oh shut up Neji, shouldn't you be with your bride?" Naruto snapped.

"Finace! And no she's currently talking with her friends." Neji pointed to a crowed of girls, whispering and laughing.

Naruto sighed. "Well stop bugging me,"

Neji scowled, "Me? I think you've had too many drinks." he tried to grab for Naruto's glass but Naruto snatched it before Neji had the chance to pull it away from the blond weirdo.

"Mind your own business." Naruto said glaring.

"Fine, fine, but if he," Neji pointed at Shikamaru, "starts beating you up, don't come crying to me for help."

Naruto laughed and turned his attention back to Shikamaru, who looked like he was going to get up, and get as far away from him as possible. Naruto grabbed the poor boy's elbow and made him stay where he was. "Shikamaru, my good friend, tell me what ales you?" Naruto asked, trying to sound concerned-and failing miserably.

"Nothing." he answered coldly.

_Can't get anything out of him like this,_ Naruto's mind told him, _best get him drunk._

"You want a drink?"

"No." Shikamaru yawned.

"Oh come on, you are probably the only person that's not taking advantage of this free-no age limit-bar." Naruto whined.

"And I care because...?"

"Because you're a man damn it, so act like one, take a risk, drink a little, live life to it's fullest." Naruto yelled. A few people turned to give him a scowl.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "And that's why your best friend is a power hungry psycho."

"That's not the point, you have to drink, it's what men do, and we all know how much you want to look like a man." Naruto tried.

Neji shook his head. "he doesn't realize he's trying to convince the most unenthusiastic person in Konoha."

A few hours later, Naruto finally succeeded. Shikamaru had tried his first glass of brandy and he seemed to enjoy it. Naruto smiled to himself. _Now I just need to get him drunk._

"Hey Shikamaru, how about we have a drinking contest?" Naruto asked.

Powered by that one drink, Shikamaru nodded.

Glass after glass, they drank. Until Naruto couldn't understand anything around him. He hadn't expected Shikamaru to stay sober for so long. Trying to lift his next cup, Naruto realized too late that he had lost his balance.

With a thud, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

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Shikamaru didn't drink. He found the humiliation too troublesome, and the hangovers, he had seen his dad with a hangover, and it was not pretty. But Naruto had convinced him after three hours of whining. When he drank a bit of the brandy, the liquid made his mouth warm and it nagged his brain. When he swallowed the thing, the warm feeling followed it, down his throat and in his stomach, and eventually it stopped, but the nagging did not. He liked it though. Liked the feeling of the liquid in his body, so when Naruto offered him a chance to drink as much as possible, he took it without hesitation. Anything to get his mind off Temari and her troublesome words.

But as he drank glass after glass of what he assumed to be a very strong drink, the nagging on his brain grew to a point that he couldn't think. He looked over at Naruto and found the blond boy unconscious. Something told him he should do the same. But some stronger force pulled him away. He looked around, the world was wobbling badly, and he found that his legs could not carry his weight. But he wobbled, determined to satisfy the force controlling his thoughts. He didn't know what it was until he spotted a fragile girl walking towards him. She spoke, but he couldn't understand her. He could feel his body moving but he couldn't control it. Next think he knew someone spun him around. Her face was so familiar and the way there was water in her eyes. With a start he realized she was crying. He laughed, he had his brain under control, but that made her cry harder. Temari was crying and it was his fault. The sudden guilt made his legs tremble. With a last sob, Temari turned and left. He tried to go after her but suddenly his world went black.

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Hinata watched Shikamaru wobble and look around strangely. Instantly she knew he was drunk. She walked towards him, determined to get him away from humiliation. When she got closer, the gleam in his eyes scared her. Still she went on, Hinata wasn't the type to abandon a friend.

"Shikamaru-kun, do you want me to show you to Temari-san?" She asked when she was close enough. Shikamaru didn't look like he understood what she said. He smiled drunkly at her and slurred something she couldn't understand. Suddenly she became scared. He came closer and put a hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, she screamed.

Behind her Hinata heard footsteps and saw Temari spin him around and sank down relieved.

"How could you?" she heard Temari scream. She looked at Shikamaru. The poor boy looked so confused.

"Are you gonna answer me?" Temari asked.

His answer was a laugh, Temari staggered and started crying.

"I hate you." She managed between sobs.

Hinata looked at Shikamaru and this time saw guilt. He looked sober but before he could do anything, Temari turned and ran. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to go after her but he fell backward unconscious as soon as he tried.

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Temari ran, she didn't know to where, but she ran. After a few hours logic took over her emotions and she stopped. She thought the night over. Her heart told her she was being too soft. That she was a poor excuse of a Ninja to be crying over a guy, that she should leave. Her brain though told her to not be so rash, that Shikamaru was drunk-for the first time too-and he didn't know what he was doing. But in the end Her feelings won over logic and she sneaked into his house to get her gears and left that very night. She vowed not to come back again if she could help it.

For three days and nights she ran, when she stopped she tried to think of home, of her brothers and her friends. But something nagged her.

_I knew this would happen. I knew it would if I trusted a boy again._

When she finally got home, her brothers stared at her, Kankuro started to speak, and she tensed. But she relaxed when a thin barrier of sand formed around Kankuro's mouth. She relaxed and gave Gaara a grateful smile then left the two.

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_**Wake up genius.**_

_Whaa...?_

Shikamaru woke up with a headache so horrible he could barely think. He only wished the annoying little voice in his head would stop.

_**You awake yet.**_

"Oh shut up and let me think." he said at loud. He had a vague memory of the night before. He thought maybe cold water would help but...

_**You hit on Hinata**_

He was dumbstruck for a moment then:

"I WHAT?" he yelled, then a more horrible thought struck him. "What about..."

_**Temari? She left.**_

"What?"

_**That's what you get for listening to Naruto.**_

"Why didn't you say anything?" Shikamaru asked. "Most of the times, you wont leave me alone."

_**I tried but...ah by the way she said she hates you.**_

"Hinata?" he asked hoping against hope that it was her.

_**No dumbass Temari.**_

"I was afraid you'd say that." he said sighing. Even though he still had a headache, his stomach felt ok.

_**So what are you gonna do?**_

"I don't know." he answered honestly.

_**What do you mean you don't know? Go after her.**_

"Do I want to? I mean she gets mad so easily...do I really want a girl like that?" he asked.

_**Hey I'm you, and I know what I want, she's tall, blond, carries a huge fan, is from the sand village, puts her hair in four ponytails...**_

"Yea yea I get it, I love her, even though it's a little weird, but how can I get her to listen to me? You know how stubborn she is." he reasoned.

_**I seem to remember a certain rose that you worked your ass off to get.**_

"The rose, that's it, Thanks." he got up and ran out of the room.

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"No, not with the way you acted last night." Tsunade said firmly.

"But it was Naruto's fault." Shikamaru tried. "I didn't mean to,"

"No means no Shikamaru."

"Listen to me you crone, you get drunk when you're on duty yet no one says anything about you. Now this is the only thing I've asked of you for so long and you have the nerve to say no? Do you have any idea how much she means to me? I would leave in a heartbeat if I knew that you'd keep me here for a stupid C rank mission." he finished and rubbed his forehead amazed at his own outburst.

Tsunade too was amazed, Shikamaru had once before yelled at her, but nothing so insulting. "Well, I could have you doing paper work for that but I know you'd enjoy the time to sleep too much so I'm letting you go. I do have a message for the Kazekage too, if you'd be so kind as to give it to him."

Shikamaru left Konoha the same day. Carrying the rose close to his heart. It would take him three days to reach Sand. He tried to think of how he'd apologize and in the end, he came with a simple letter. He signed it this time just so she knew it was from him. He thought though, that when everything was over, he'd have a long chat with her about trust.

When he finally reached Sand, Shikamaru went straight to the Kazekage's office. Gaara was sitting on his chair, looking out the window at his village. When the door opened, he turned and gave Shikamaru a questioning look. Shikamaru shrugged and threw the letter towards him.

"From the Hokage," he said when Gaara's sand caught it.

Gaara stayed silent for a long time, then he motioned to the door. "Well get going, she's not gonna forgive you so easily." he said at last.

Shikamaru sighed relief showing in his face.

"Don't look so relieved, Kankuro is waiting outside." Gaara said with a green.

True enough Kankuro was waiting outside the door and would've punched Shikamaru's face in if Shikamaru hadn't stunned him with Asuma's old knives. He told him to wait there-as if the poor puppet master had another choice- and ran to where he knew Temari's room was.

The hardest challenge had just started.

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**AN: ah I finally finished it, well there's the next chapter and the epilogue. Which I'm either gonna make or not make...I don't know yet...anyways don't forget my question about bleach its very very very important...now i will upload this as soon as i get my Internet back and yea...HARRY POTTER IS COMING OUT, finally the last book you know how long I've been waiting???? i just hope its not disappointing... oh well anyways, REVIEW!!!! cause reviewing helps save...um...um...um...trees, yes TREES, oh and enjoy too!!!! i know it sucks but its the best i could write I'm so thankful for all my readers you are too kind to me!!!! now the review button is just down there ↓ don't forget to tell me what you think.**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Roses are red**_

_**Violets are blue**_

_**I don't own Naruto**_

_**So don't you dare sue**_

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**AN:**_ Woo last chapter! I'm so happy! I'd like to thank everyone. Everyone that has been reading!!!!! I love you all. You make me feel so proud. Any news...I moved, I'm starting high school, I watched a jealous Orihime-IN YOU FACE BIG BOOB HE LIKES RUKIA BETTER!!!!!!! I went shopping, I still love Shika/Tema after so long time...Very small AN, I know weird for me but I'm exited for u to read the last chapter._

_Shikamaru: **You are by far the most annoying, troublesome girl I've ever met.**_

_Temari: **Don't you mean I'm the only one that can beat the crap out of you? **_

_Shikamaru: **No, my mom can do that.**_

_Temari: **Huh, I was hoping that was me. By the way have you seen my fan?**_

_Shikamaru: **It's under my bed!**_

_Temari: **That bitch is so dead.**_

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Temari woke up and froze, her eyes wide with shock. In front of her was the pretties-no that was an understatement, it was beautiful-flower she'd ever seen. She reached a hesitant hand to touch it, she was beginning to think that the flower was not there, it was possible that she was dreaming it, a thing with this quality of beauty did not belong in her room. But it was there, as she touched it-first the blood red petals, then the leafs on the side- she felt a thrill go through her. Then her hand stumbled upon something, a note perhaps. She took it off, careful not to hurt the rose-for it was that, though it was way more beautiful than an ordinary rose- and looked at the paper, it was small and rectangular. On it there was only two words. She read them out loud:

_Forgive Me._

She read it two more times. It didn't make sense. Forgive me? But who had wrote it? It couldn't be Gaara, his handwriting was way smaller and bunched together, she'd recognize it instantly. Not Kankuro either, Kankuro's handwriting was bigger and more spaced out, it was also sloppy. So it wasn't her brothers trying to make her feel better. It couldn't be- she had this almost as an after thought- Shikamaru- even thinking his name hurt her- no matter that he was drunk, he _had_ hit on another girl and that was that. Case sealed! She couldn't have a secret admirer, who would like her? She was not pretty, almost a tomboy. So not her brothers, not..._him..._and no secret admirer. The rose couldn't have appeared out of thin air. Well, it could have, it looked so heavenly. But not the note, the note had been written with human hands, she was sure of that.

She sighed. No matter where the rose had come from it couldn't be meant for her. She thought that maybe they'd mistaken her room with her co-worker's two floors down. She shook her head sadly and stood up. She'd better return it. When she made a move towards the door though, she found that she could not move. Her limbs were locked in place and no matter how many times her brain signaled them to move, they would not obey.

Then she remembered. Remembered herself behind her fan, ready to do a replication Justsu, and her body had stopped responding, leaving her hands clasped and her body kneeling. She had not known what had happened then. But this time, she was not unlearned. She knew after that small flashback, that her body was now imprisoned by a single shadow. It was the same feeling, but she was not the same person.

She fought it. Believing it to be a dream. Wanting it to be one. Because he _couldn't_ be there, standing in the shadows that were his true companions, imprisoning her. He couldn't be there because of her. He too, must have mistaken the rooms.

She tried to take another step, this time more forcefully, and would have probably jumped from surprise if she could move, when she heard the voice.

"Stop." It was not a request but a command. She found herself being turned around by invisible hands only she could feel. This time she sighed and let them guide her towards her bed. No point trying to fight them, she'd wake up sooner or later.

He was there of course, just where she'd imagined he'd be. Laying on her bad so casually. Even he looked like a dream. She had never realized how handsome he truly was. His black eyes that were always yawning looked eager and serious today, his nose was not wrinkled in the usual "_it's too troublesome so I'm not doing it"_ way, and his mouth was pinched together as if trying to stop itself from snarling. It had to be a dream, she told herself again. Shikamaru never snarled.

She realized then, with fury, that she was gaping. This was all the fault of the boy in front of her. Yes him. It was him that had invaded her dreams. Him that had made her feel so stupid so many times over and over again. Him that had earned her trust and then stepped on her heart. She desperately wished- even if this was a dream- that her fan, or maybe something sharp were there. No matter if this wasn't real. She would hurt him and see his handsome-to her _(AN: and all the fangirls)_- face in pain. Then maybe, some of the pain in her own heart might cease.

He was looking at her now with a smirk. As if he could read her mind and was telling her to just try it. She remembered sorely that she could not escape his shadow. That he was- though younger- stronger than her. She cursed loudly. Damn it all anyways. This dream was not going her way!

"Stop moving, you're gonna hurt yourself." he ordered. She stood there and glared at him. He looked confused for a moment, lost for words probably and then he looked at her and shrugged. "What?"

"I'm waiting for this dream to end." She said matter of factly.

"Yea I probably look like a nightmare, I know." he sighed. "But at least listen to what I have to say."

She was going to fold her arms, then realized she couldn't and settled for just glaring at him.

"That's for you." He said. When she looked confused, he moved his head so that if she looked straight, she would see the rose.

"You think a flower will make up for it?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I got that a long time ago." He added ignoring her question. "Old man Yamanaka worked me until i was halfway dead for it. Stupid old man took all of my money too."

"And?" she asked.

He ignored that too. "You're only hurting yourself trying to ignore the obvious. I don't know why you don't trust men, or me maybe, but I know that if I was in your situation, I wouldn't have judged too fast."

"But you-" She started to say.

"If you really cared about me, you would've stopped to think about how drunk I was- because of that stupid bet-, i couldn't even understand myself."

Furiously, she realized her eyes were burning. _Stupid, stupid tears._

"I don't know why, but we can't ever have an honest discussion about these stupid feelings." He went on, not noticing her tears. Or at least, she hoped he didn't notice them.

"You are...forceful, loud, you insult me with every chance you get." he paused and took a breath. "But still I have some weird feelings, feelings that I couldn't explain before, but now...

"It's in our genes I think, my grandma, well she was nice to me, but to my father and grandfather, well she was just like my mom, yet my grandpa had married her, and they were married until they were both killed.

"My mom, have you met her? You should, you are too much like her. Loud, pushy, she makes me and my dad do everything, and if we say something wrong, I don't even want to think about it.

"So you see, I've figured that us Nara men, no matter how smart we are, are bound to fall for women like that, if not, I wouldn't be sitting here trying to explain to you how I feel..."

_What did I think? That he was gonna say he loved me for me?_ She thought bitterly. _I might be too much like his mom and that's why he likes me._

"So I told you about us, Nara men and the way they seem to fall for obnoxious women. That's a part of why I'm here. The other part- harder to explain because I'm embarrassed by it- is that I keep thinking about you. And when I do that, I don't think about how many times you've called me crybaby, when I think about you, I think of your smile- you know I've never seen you smile that way for anyone else- and I think of the time when I first noticed how great you were. I think of ways to make you see from my point of view. To see how much I really care about you.

"But the Temari I knew, she's vanished since the time you kissed me. She's been replaced by a _coward_, a coward that's not willing to give her heart because she's afraid of it being torn to pieces." he stopped here and looked at her, Temari could see now her actions in the past, maybe...

"Temari if you never give your heart, how can you know if it will be broken. If you never try, you'll never know.

"Please, please, please, I'm not here to tell you to fall in love with me. I'm here to tell you to trust me, please trust me because...

"Because I care deeply about you. I know it's weird, someone like me, going through all of this for a woman, but it I am, because you are the most important thing to me now,"

Temari opened her mouth to answer him, to tell him to leave her alone, but he went on.

"The rose, it is how you look to me." she was shocked when she heard that. "It is the most beautiful flower, you are the most beautiful woman. The rose is for you.

"If you're still not convinced, Temari then I will leave you. But before you say no to me, please remember...

"Just remember, I love you."

And with that, he released his shadow and in a puff of smoke, disappeared.

Temari looked at where he was sitting moments ago, she closed her eyes and tried to think.

_Why won't I trust him?_

_Because I'm scared of my heart breaking._

"_**You're hurting yourself.**" _he'd said,

_Am I?_

She looked at the rose, with it's beauty, he'd said that the way people saw the rose was the way he'd seen her...

_He said I was beautiful..._

But he'd said it before, that once when she'd gotten the courage to flirt with him.

_Coward._

The word rang in her head and she realized how true it was, these past months, she'd been nothing but a coward...If she was anything but that, she'd have stayed, she'd have thought of the alcohol he'd consumed...did she deserve him?

_Yes,_ The dominate part of her shouted. She wasn't going to run away anymore, she'd give him all she had, she'd done it before, but now, she'd do it openly she'd tell him, she'd tell him that...

"_**Just remember, I love you"**_

She'd tell him that she too, had fallen in love with him and this time, she'd stay.

She took the rose in her hands and ran out of the room.

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Shikamaru sat on top of Suna's main building staring at the clouds. They were so peaceful today, too bad he wasn't able to enjoy them.

His mind was in war. The part of him that was happy about leaving Temari to herself was fighting to desperately remain while the other part- the one that resembled his mother- was yelling in his head to go and kiss her firmly until she realized how much he loved her.

But he knew he'd done the right thing. If she had any feelings for him, she'd realize he'd meant every word he had said, and would finally trust him.

He felt the chakra before he heard the footsteps, someone was coming. He recognized the chakra, recognized it but as always, he couldn't tell who it belonged to. He tried to calculate the situation, if it was an enemy he'd seen before...but it couldn't be, not here in Suna. Maybe it was Gaara. But the footsteps were heavier, not too heavy though, but heavy enough not to be the Sands young Kazekage.

The footsteps stopped right behind him and he heard a sigh. The voice, he recognized, he'd recognize it anywhere. And then she sat down next to him and stared at the sky silently.

He looked at her, she was holding the rose, the Desert Rose, it resembled her so much.

They sat like that for what seemed like hours when she finally spoke.

"Coward." She started. "You're right, I've been that, so unlike me to be afraid of something." she smiled and shook her head. "But I've been thought, that if you trust a boy, then someday you'll be all alone and regretting it." she smiled. "Growing up didn't help, the men I grew up with were brute...and then I found you, you were so different, you did nothing I expected, you even cried in front of me...though you weren't aware of it then...and I had this weird feelings toward you, feelings that scared me. So I denied all of them, but I couldn't, not when they made me spend so much time with you, and you were always there-complaining about it being troublesome- but for some reason you didn't weasel out of working with me...so they grew.

"And when I kissed you, I thought what an idiot I was, how could you feel the same way about me...someone like me...really so there was no way, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust myself.

"But today," she handled the rose in her hand. "I think now is the best time, because...because you're worth all the hurt in the world. And I...I'm here to beg you to forgive me..."

Shikamaru looked at her with astonishment. She was asking _him_ to forgive _her._ Forgive her for what?

"And that I...I...love..you." She managed before her voice broke. She offered him the rose. "You're the one that deserves it." she said after her voice was back to normal. "I haven't done anything but being an idiot."

He smiled, giddy with joy. "You know that's a Desert Rose." He watched her surprise and his smile widened. "I gave it to you because you're a rare creature, and you were born in the heart of the desert, and you're beautiful, it's a gift I won't take it back."

She closed her eyes and a few tears escaped from under her eyelids. "This is _you're _fault." she said pointing at her tears.

Shikamaru glared at her. "It's _not_ my fault that _you _have such a week heart." Then he smiled. "It is also not my fault that I'm extremely handsome."

"Handsome my ass." She laughed. And the laugh made him happier than anything he leaned in to kiss her, and with the kiss, erase all the past.

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Later when they were both watching the stars something suddenly came to his mind.

"You know I have a feeling I'm forgetting something." He said removing his arm from her shoulder.

"If you forgot it it's not important." She answered.

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_Somewhere in the Kazekage's building_

"WHERE IS THAT DAMNED NARA?! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM! NARA, GET BACK HERE AND REMOVE THESE STUPID KNIVES, NARA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?!"

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_**EPILOUGE**_

"Hey dad! Why the hell did you marry such a loud woman?" The boy asked as he was eating his rice.

Shikamaru smiled. His dad might have been right after all, but Temari was nowhere as strict as his mom. Well, he'd give his son a better explanation.

"Because, I love her." he said simply.

"Love her? Are you crazy?" Just then Temari came in holding a flower so beautiful, it made the house look plain. Shikamaru watched with satisfaction the look on his son's face.

"Mom! Where did you get that?" he asked dumbstruck.

Temari looked at him and he shook his head. His son was too young to learn about their past. Maybe if he found a girl for himself...

"That's a story for later." Temari said smartly. "For now," she turned towards Shikamaru. "Happy Anniversary!"

❧_**THE END❧**_

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_**AN: It is done! I am finally free... Tell me what you think please! I'm so very happy. I hoped you enjoyed my story...I know I enjoyed writing it.**_

_**Some things I wanna point out:**_

_Tenten and Neji's child was indeed a girl._

_Sakura decided that Sasuke was way too cold for her and stayed with Ino and Chouji for a while, then she helped Kiba win Hinata's heart, and she herself fell for Naruto. _

_They all lived happily ever after._

_**Oh and Lee married Gai **_;P haha jk...!!!!

_**and if you didn't realize it, the person shouting in the kazekage's building is Kankuro, Shikamaru imprisoned him there so he could get away, aparantly, he forgot the poor makeup-boy**_


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